‘Snake oil salesman’: Jeopardy! faces backlash for appointing Dr. Oz as guest host
Posted March 22, 2021 1:59 pm.
Last Updated March 26, 2021 10:59 am.
He’s been accused of promoting pseudoscience and endorsing questionable products that lack scientific backing.
Who is Doctor Oz.
When beloved Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek died in November, it was clear his shoes would be impossible to fill.
But the latest in a revolving door of guest hosts has particularly irked many loyal fans of the long-running game show.
New episodes of Jeopardy! continue this week with guest host @DrOz! pic.twitter.com/9pRYevhjZA
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) March 22, 2021
Dr. Mehmet Oz, better known simply as Dr. Oz, began his two-week stint as guest host on Monday and it didn’t take long for the Twitter-sphere to revolt.
Among his many controversies, Dr. Oz was heavily criticized for promoting antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a cure for COVID-19 on Fox News. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration later found that it was not effective in fighting the virus, and revoked its use.
The show’s executive producer, Mike Richards, tried explaining the decision to bring Dr. Oz into the fold, telling USA Today that Dr. Oz and Trebek were close friends and that his appearance would “honour” the late host.
Why are you platforming someone that pushes pseudo science? This seems extremely dangerous and goes against pretty much everything Jeopardy used to stand for.
— Theresa(@TheresaDewa) March 22, 2021
This show is about facts and accuracy. Dr. Oz is a peddler of falsehoods & snake oil. As a longtime fan of your show, I refuse to watch anytime he’s hosting. It’s an insult to the memory of Alex Trebek. #TruthMatters #bringbackkenjennings
— Michael Burgi (@michaelburgi) March 22, 2021
Disgusting, a charlatan that has blood on his hands because of the disinformation he spread- Shame on you
— David Amoyal (@DavidAmoyal) March 22, 2021
well thanks for letting us know THAT WILL ENSURE THAT I DEFINITELY DO NOT WATCH, I usually do, but Dr. Oz is not someone with any credibility left…I don’t like or trust him, so while I’ve watched you for decades I won’t be watching while he is the host
— MD WTH are we doing? (@maryderrickart) March 22, 2021
It’s going to be difficult, but I decided to take this week off from Jeopardy…
This snake oil salesman should not get the chance to host Jeopardy.
— eddycree8 (@eddycree8) March 22, 2021
With the possible exception that he might learn something there’s no way this snake oil salesman belongs on a show about FACT and TRUTH. Guess I’ll be skipping the next couple of weeks. Congrats on turning Jeopardy into a farce.
— ProfanityisOK (@profanityisOK) March 22, 2021
A lot of other people have already chimed in, but this is really disappointing. Jeopardy is a place for learning new facts, not a place for giving snake oil salesmen a platform *and* presumably tens of thousands of dollars. Dr. Oz is dangerous and disingenuous.
— Maura. (@VonDinkenstein) March 22, 2021
If Dr. Oz becomes the host I will never watch again. You can’t have a misinformation pusher hosting a show about literal facts.
— Alex L-W (@AJLariv) March 22, 2021
I am hard pressed to think of a worse person you could pick to be the voice of facts.
— Dr. Andrea Chase (@albeus51) March 22, 2021
