'Jeopardy!' fans are not happy about Dr Oz’s guest hosting stint

Let’s be honest: no one is ever going to truly replace the late, great Alex Trebek on Jeopardy!. Sure, we will have some really great guest hosts (we’ve already had Katie Couric and Ken Jennings), but after 35 years of hosting, Canadian legend Trebek, who passed away last year after a battle with pancreatic cancer, is irreplaceable. So it stands to reason that some of the guest hosts that Jeopardy! has lined up for this year might not jive with Jeopardy! superfans. But the announcement that TV doctor, Dr. Mehmet Oz, of Dr. Oz fame, will be guest hosting the show until early April has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

Fans and past contestants alike are calling out Dr. Oz for his past comments on his afternoon syndicated talk show, saying that his pushing of “miracle cures” and pseudo-science is antithetical to the ethos of Jeopardy!. In addition, many have pointed to his comments about COVID-19 (specifically, about the re-opening of schools that will put children’s lives in danger) when he was a guest on Fox News as particularly troubling.

Over 600 past Jeopardy! contestants have added their names to a growing list of people opposed to posting, and the letter attached to the petition is pretty damning.

“Dr. Oz stands in opposition to everything that Jeopardy! stands for,” began the letter that was address to Jeopardy! executive producer Mike Richards. “Jeopardy! is a show that values facts and knowledge. Throughout his nearly two decades on television, he has used his authority as a doctor to push harmful ideas onto the American public, in stark contrast with his oath to first do no harm.”

The letter continued, “These ideas include promoting supplements that do nothing, legitimizing gay conversion therapy (which is banned in California, as well as 19 other states), dangerous ‘cures’ for autism, and, most recently, the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19. None of these things is backed by any scientific fact and by promoting them he is actively putting his viewers in danger. In fact, his ideas are so dangerous that thousands of his colleagues have petitioned to have him fired from his position at Columbia Medical School. And what kind of message does this send to the LGBTQ+ and autistic contestants and viewers of Jeopardy!?”

They capped off their letter with, “Jeopardy! is known for being incredibly rigorous; a well-deserved reputation. As contestants, we've all seen what happens behind the scenes if there's any doubt about a question. We've seen writers and judges frantically cross-reference answers in real time to make sure that the facts are accurate. To then invite Dr. Oz to guest-host is a slap in the face to all involved."

It’s not just previous contestants that want answers from Jeopardy! on their casting choice, it’s also superfans, who have flooded Twitter with criticism, repeatedly calling Dr. Oz a “snake oil salesman.”

Many others have pointed to the harmful advice Dr. Oz has peddled over the years, including when he promoted on FoxNews the idea of re-opening schools in the middle of the COVID-19 global pandemic because a child morbidity rate of 2-3 per cent was an acceptable parameter to him.

As journalist Yashar Ali pointed out on Twitter, Trebek himself specifically stated that he wanted Laura Coates, CNN’s legal analyst, to succeed him as host, but that has yet to happen.

Look, all we’re saying is that LeVar Burton is RIGHT THERE. 

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