Yogesh Raut, the Jeopardy! contestant who went on a three-game winning streak earlier this month, is facing backlash for ranting on social media about the game show that paid him nearly $100k.
Raut—who is well known in the quizzing community—was knocked out on day four by museum interpreter Katie Palumbo. After his loss aired Raut called the beloved game show "a glorified reality show" as part of a since-deleted multi-part rant on Facebook.
According to the New York Post, Raut posted:
"['Jeopardy!' would] never top the list of my quizzing accomplishments—not even my quizzing accomplishments of 2022."
He continued Jeopardy! is good entertainment but perhaps not the most rigorous in testing one's knowledge.
Raut also acknowledged the hate he received from viewers over his perceived arrogance and condescending tone.
"Yet today I'm receiving the most attention, praise, congratulations and nasty trolling from strangers (!) of my life... and for what?"
"What did I do to get the biggest paycheck of my quizzing career? I beat two guys."
"This is not an insult to 'Jeopardy!' which is a TV show designed for entertainment, and a reasonably good one."
"It is entertaining to watch but it bears the same relationship to real quizzing that Holey Moley does to golf."
That last sentence burned a little, but his point was understood.
But then he took it to another level.
"'Jeopardy!' has not nor will ever be the Olympics of quizzing. 'Jeopardy!' is not the problem; its centrality to American society is."
"There will never be a healthy quizzing culture in this country until we learn to stop pretending that 'Jeopardy!' is important."
Raut included many other points to justify his claims, ending with his ideas on Jeopardy! as a true quiz show—with a focus on merit and knowledge—vs. Jeopardy! as an entertainment program which Raut doesn't believe gives all people the same opportunities.
"'Jeopardy!' is a fun TV show, but putting it on a pedestal is an objectively bad thing. It's bad for the future of quizzing."
"It's bad for women and [people of color] who want to be treated with the same levels of dignity as their White male counterparts."
"It is fundamentally incompatible with incentivizing the next generation of quizzers to excel, and it is fundamentally incompatible with true social justice."
Raut faced swift backlash for his comments about "America's Favorite Quiz Show."
One notable person who came to the defense of the show was one of Jeopardy!'s biggest winners ever, James Holzhauer.
Upon hearing of Raut's comments, Holzhauer—who won nearly $3 million on his Jeopardy! run—tweeted:
"Anyone who's ever used social media to criticize 'Jeopardy!' or its producers should get a lifetime ban from the show."
Many on Twitter agreed with Holzhauer, noting Raut shouldn't bite the hand that fed him $96k.
Raut makes ridiculous comments. I have watched Jeopardy for almost 60 years, going back to Art Fleming. IMO the greatest quiz show ever. I agree with you James. BTW, he bragged about beating your team in HS quiz bowls. How true was that?
— Jimmy Hill (@j_c_hill59) January 24, 2023
I don't hold the view that @Jeopardy is above criticism, i.e. that brief period where they chose Mike Richards as the next host, but when done in bad faith and completely obviously with the attitude of entitlement, yes. Ban him forever.
— Andre T (@Feisty_Finance) January 24, 2023
There are plenty of reasons for that dude to get a lifetime ban. It was physically unpleasant to watch him.
— LJR (@RichardsLJ) January 24, 2023
I agree James! I noticed his smug remarks about you and others including Ken Jennings on the show.
— Champa Girl~She/Her (@Champa4Us) January 24, 2023
As a good friend would say: "Bitter. Party of one."
— Ann Weir (@GrammarAnn) January 24, 2023
I agree. He should be thankful he had the chance to win a lot of money by playing a game. There’s more to Jeopardy than just knowing facts and that’s what makes it such a balanced game.
— Choctaw Woman (@ssjs2009) January 27, 2023
However, some believed Raut had some valid points in his criticism of the show.
Not your best look, James. Constructive criticism of the show, grounded in reason and fact, should always be welcome. For instance, it is arguably scandalous that they have not increased payouts to contestants in over two decades. 1/n
— Chris Stratton (@Arkie_in_CT) January 24, 2023
Eh, Michael Davies said himself on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast that show itself is not beyond criticism. It's okay to have been a part of something, and even have had some success in it, and also express qualms with it. Life is nuanced and complicated!
— Ben (@ohwhaaat) January 24, 2023
That's a bad take James. Folks can have opinions you disagree with, it'll be OK.
— T.J. Walker (@TJWalkerRadio) January 24, 2023
Jeopardy is not above criticism. The questions tend to be very eurocentric though they've done better in the past few years.
— $emptythatwallet (@helloayo) January 30, 2023
During Monday's episode of the podcast Inside Jeopardy!, producer Michael Davies shared he appreciated Raut speaking out and sharing his criticism.
"Here's the thing. 'Jeopardy!' is not beyond criticism..."
"We don't make as part of our eligibility requirements that you have to come on the show and you've got to say lovely things about 'Jeopardy!'"
He continued:
"Just as I wouldn't take away the right of people within our viewing community to express things that they like and that they don't like, I wouldn't ever want to censor a contestant who defends himself, even if what he or she has to say is not always the most flattering to 'Jeopardy!'..."
"I think all of our contestants deserve respect. If you've never played this game, if you've never been on this stage, I think it's very difficult to imagine the pressure you're under, and I think Yogesh made some good points within his lengthy responses."
In an indirect response to Holzhauer's request to ban Raut from a return, Davies added "players of quality will always be welcome on the Alex Trebek stage."
Producer Sarah Foss affirmed:
"You heard it here first: Michael Davies will welcome that."
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