Jeopardy! Facing Blowback Ahead of Dr. Oz’s Stint as Guest Host: ‘What Is a Horrible Mistake?’
Dr. Mehmet Oz is starting his stint as guest host for Jeopardy! this week and many supporters— and past contestants — are expressing their outrage at handing over the reins to a TV talk show host with a history of fact-challenged claims.
After the death of iconic Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, the show unveiled a rotation of guest hosts to fill his shoes in the following months. Besides record-breaking contestant Ken Jennings, who led off the replacement roster, the show announced a broad swath of fill-ins, from former Today Show host Katie Couric to CNN anchor Anderson Cooper to NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Oz, who hosts his own syndicated talk show focused on health and wellness, drew the ire of Jeopardy! fans, however, because of the show’s rigorous commitment to a facts. He, critics argue, is a bad fit for the show for his having pushed numerous unscientific health remedies and outright misinformation. As part of the blowback to his hosting, several online commenters brought up a 2014 Washington Post story about a British Medical Journal study, which found roughly half of the medical advice he dispensed on TV was, in fact, “baseless or wrong.”
Besides calling out Oz’s checkered past, some critics also felt compelled to offer their own choices for Trebek’s permanent replacement while pointing to some of the doctor’s crackpot prescriptions.
“Half of Dr. Oz’s medical advice is baseless or wrong, study says”https://t.co/0I30qrSe3W https://t.co/0Fkmpxu5er
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) March 22, 2021
I love Jeopardy but I absolutely hate this. Oz promotes pseudoscience. He has no place on a show that celebrates intellectual curiosity by testing fact-based knowledge. https://t.co/YaesUDJtZI
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) March 22, 2021
what is a horrible mistake https://t.co/oE0C63b9yT
— jason c. (@netw3rk) March 22, 2021
Here’s a letter signed by over 500 former contestants (myself included) opposed to Dr. Oz hosting the show because of his rampant promotion of pseudoscience.https://t.co/mA8JW9iZTM https://t.co/ahHLJ2PSMp
— Hemant Mehta (@hemantmehta) March 22, 2021
Hydroxychloroquine, arsenic in apple juice, and bogus weight loss pills are all examples of pseudoscience pushed by this controversial TV doctor https://t.co/a6uiHDRAiA
— Nathan McDermott (@natemcdermott) March 22, 2021
What’s a surefire way to debase your brand?
— Helen Kennedy (@HelenKennedy) March 22, 2021
Alex Trebek’s final episodes gave us a moving, frank look at a real-life health crisis, endured with grace and no little difficulty. These were challenging and honest. Dr. Oz, by contrast, has suggested that drinking green tea with turmeric can prevent pancreatic cancer. https://t.co/3mIQ7JaDDc
— Daniel D’Addario (@DPD_) March 22, 2021
me seeing Levar Burton trending bc people are rightfully dragging @Jeopardy for having the dangerous quack Dr. Oz host instead of one of the smartest and most wholesome men to ever grace our televisions pic.twitter.com/y1iAaP64sz
— Rebecca “Wear a Fucking Mask” Watson (@rebeccawatson) March 22, 2021
Dr. Oz spreads dangerous medical misinformation for profit.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 22, 2021
Which disgrace to the practice of medicine was recently selected as a guest host of Jeopardy? https://t.co/Js6sGXXXIl
— Yoni Freedhoff, MD (@YoniFreedhoff) March 22, 2021
— Astead (@AsteadWesley) March 22, 2021
I recognize the corporate desire for Sony synergy. But you disgrace yourselves in the eyes of thinking human beings.
— Dan Zak (@MrDanZak) March 22, 2021
Really? You’re gonna have a liar hosting the show?
— no justice, no peace (@nandelabra) March 22, 2021
You replace the great Alex Trebek with this shameless and thirsty hack grifter?
Yeah, no thanks.
— bob clendenin ?? (@bobclendenin) March 22, 2021
Dr. Oz is a great choice for guest host because a lot of his “medical advice” will put your health in Jeopardy! https://t.co/NDxDfdtePJ
— Max Burns (@themaxburns) March 22, 2021
And unspeakably terrible – even obscene – choice to replace a legend.
— Dave Zirin (@EdgeofSports) March 22, 2021
