If you watched Jeopardy on Wednesday, October 12, 2016, you know something a little unusual happened. As Alex Trebek, the host of Jeopardy, introduced a contestant he made fun of her favorite type of music. He introduced Susan Cole, a legislative librarian from Bowie, Maryland, and said “Her favorite type of music is something I’ve never heard of, but it doesn’t sound like fun.”
Susan Cole told Trebek, “I think it’s very fun. It’s called nerd-core hip-hop. It’s people who identify as nerdy, rapping about the things they love—video games, science fiction, having a hard time meeting romantic partners. It’s really catchy and fun.”
Trebek, who is known for having a snarky sense of humor, created his own definition. “Losers, in other word,” he told the contestant.
Susan stuttered a little bit before laughing and said “sure.”
Trebek told her “I’m just teasing you” before moving on with the show.
This was a fairly quick exchange and shouldn’t really matter much, but to the viewers of Jeopardy it does seem to matter. A lot of viewers of Jeopardy are self-proclaimed nerds, who love to watch this intellectual game show, but they don’t want to be called “losers.”
I watch this show most nights and I know it makes me nerdy, but I am a proud nerd. I love watching Jeopardy, it’s a half hour that I get to relax and learn new things. When Susan Cole mentioned what nerd-core hip hop is, I wrote it on a post it note and put it on my bedside table to look up later. I thought it sounded interesting. So I was a little surprise when it registered in my brain that Alex Trebek called people who like that music, “losers”.
Other fans of Jeopardy turned to Twitter and other social media to show their dislike for Alex Trebek’s comment. One person wrote “Alex Trebek on #Jeopardy calling nerds ‘losers’ is the STUPIDEST thing I’ve ever heard. Those ‘losers’ GIVE YOU A JOB.”
A popular nerd-core hip-hop artist, Mega Ran, released a new video in response to Trebek. “Talking sideways on geeks, man, you a trip. Guess you haven’t heard, nerds make up half of your viewership… This host gets roasted on SNL yearly. Hosts a show for nerds and doesn’t know it, clearly.” These are some of the verses he rapped on a 40 second video he put on Twitter.
I don’t know if we, the viewers of Jeopardy, should necessary be mad or offended by Trebek’s comments. It was a savage response that has triggered more interest in the show. But maybe this will be a reminder to not be so quick to judge people and call them names.
Oh, and Susan Cole has proven she’s clearly not a loser. As I write this she just won her third day of Jeopardy for a grand total $67,800. It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of her Jeopardy time pans out.
