NEWSInsensitive... For 400! Jeopardy!'s Ken Jennings Blasted For 'Horribly Mean' Tweet
After the highs come the... lows. Interim Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings has come under attack after a 2014 insensitive tweet resurfaced, in which the former champion seems to mock the disabled.
“Nothing sadder than a hot person in a wheelchair,” Jennings tweeted on September 22, 2014.
His initial tweet immediately received backlash as being “not funny.”
“I’m trying to think of a way for this to be funny and not horribly mean and I got nothing,” a user commented at the time.
Jennings was named interim host of Jeopardy! earlier this week, filling in for the late Alex Trebek — who died earlier this month after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer.
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Community actress Yvette Nicole Brown was one of the first to oppose Jennings’ casting. The comedian tweeted out, “Nope,” alongside a story announcing the news. When asked why, she told a follower, “Peep his old tweets and get back to me.”
The actress followed up the tweet, reposting a screenshot of Jennings insensitive statement, saying, “sigh.”
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“And here’s the host of @Jeopardy…,” she said.
OK! was the first to report that Jennings was in the running to replace Trebek as host of the iconic game show.
“The transition into finding a new host, not a replacement, cannot be rushed,” a source stressed to OK! earlier this month, adding that one potential move may be to have a “bunch of rotating hosts at first and not commit to a new permanent host until the show’s audience is given a voice in the process.”
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The source added, “Don’t count Ken out!” when discussing the multitude of names that might be a suitable replacement for Trebek. Jennings is slated as the first in a series of guest hosts as the show takes its time deciding who would be the best permanent host.
“Alex believed in the importance of Jeopardy! and always said that he wanted the show to go on after him,” said executive producer Mike Richards in a statement. “We will honor Alex’s legacy by continuing to produce the game he loved with smart contestants and challenging clues. By bringing in familiar guest hosts for the foreseeable future, our goal is to create a sense of community and continuity for our viewers.”
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Other notable names that have been floated around to replace Trebek are Alec Baldwin, Meredith Vieira and CBS This Morning’s Gayle King.
