Why Mayim Bialik walked off ‘Jeopardy!’ set, leaving Ken Jennings as sole host
Mayim Bialik walked off “Jeopardy!” in support of the writers’ strike.
The “Big Bang Theory” alum departed the set Thursday out of solidarity for the Writers Guild of America, Deadline reported, making “Jeopardy!” the first game show to be affected by the ongoing labor dispute.
The show must go on, however, as fellow host Ken Jennings will take over the remainder of Bialik’s filming for the one week that remains in Season 39.
Jennings, 48, and Bialik, 47, have been divvying up “Jeopardy!” hosting duties since longtime host Alex Trebek died in November 2020 following a battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Former champion Jennings typically hosts daily “Jeopardy!” episodes, while the “Call Me Kat” star leads “Celebrity Jeopardy!” and “Jeopardy! National College Championship.”
Michele Loud, a writer for “Jeopardy!,” has been on the picket lines and told Variety, “Our words are on the screen every night. There is no ‘Jeopardy!’ without writers.
“Without us it’s just an empty blue screen.”
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Loud and Bialik have also been joined by “Jeopardy!” writers Jim Rhine and Billy Wisse.
Although Bialik initially faced backlash from longtime fans of the quiz show when she was named a permanent host, her harshest critic is her mother.
“She will send me screenshots of every episode in case I forgot what I was wearing in that particular episode, and I’ll get a little report like, ‘I really like this blazer, not so crazy about this top,’” the “Blossom” star joked on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” in September 2022, adding that her mom always manages to capture unflattering screenshots when she is mid-dialogue.
“She has a whole half-hour. Find a better screenshot, you know?” she urged.
Bialik previously said facing constant feedback about her look is difficult — especially when men’s “Jeopardy!” outfits do not face the same level of criticism.
“Most men wear suits when they go there, so yeah,” she told The Post. “The fact is we don’t live in a culture where I can wear a gray suit and then a blue suit, but maybe next year we’ll see.
“I don’t think anyone should think about it so much, especially me.”
