Jeopardized Careers

Imagine being fired from a job during your first week at it.  That actually happened to me once, and I was only in training.  (I will say no more.)  Now imagine that happening the same week you start working at a high-profile job, and you last a day.  

Mike Richards (not to be confused with "Seinfeld" alumnus Michael Richards), the producer of the game show "Jeopardy!," fired himself from the job as the regular host of the show when sexist rants on his podcast turned up.  The studio that produces "Jeopardy!" now says that guest hosts will continue to be used.

So why not have actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik, the new host of the primetime version of the show, host the main show as well?  

Because the former cast member of "The Big Bang Theory" - who is a neuroscientist and not an epidemiologist - criticized vaccines long before COVID became a word.

Bialik has said that while she is suspicious of vaccines in general, she does encourage people to research vaccines and make the decision to get one based on their own judgment.  She also has said that she has gotten the COVID vaccine because she is aware of the greater risk of not being vaccinated.  So we're cool, right?

Not quite.  In 2017, she wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times suggesting that women who, unlike Bialik herself, dress immodestly provoke sexual misconduct from creeps like Harvey Weinstein and may open themselves to harassment.  She quickly issued a bold - and apparently unsuccessful - tweet aimed at damage control.

"There is no way to avoid being the victim of assault by what you wear or the way you behave," she wrote. I really do regret that this became what it became."

Despite having satisfied no one with her tweet, Bialik will remain the host of the primetime version of "Jeopardy!."

And may I make a suggestion to the producers of  "Jeopardy" as they go through their guest hosts on the show's regular version?

Why not Arsenio Hall as the permanent regular host?

Arsenio Hall, you might remember, became the permanent host of Fox's late-night talk show in 1987 after Joan Rivers was fired and was replaced by guest hosts in the interim.  Alas, Fox canceled the show due to poor ratings despite the fact that Hall was beginning to get serious attention from viewers and critics, and replaced it with a new late-night show that got even worse ratings and lasted a month.  

Arsenio Hall went on to have a successful syndicated late-night talk show.  Fox was never able to create a successful light-night talk show of its own.  And thanks to Coming 2 America, Arsenio is hot again.  Come on, "Jeopardy!" producers - give him a shot! 😃