Mayim Bialik Wants To Be Told She ‘Did Good’ Amid ‘Jeopardy!’ Host Backlash

Mayim Bialik has opened up about craving approval and appreciation as she faces continued backlash for returning to Jeopardy! to host a match.

The Call Me Kat star is at present internet hosting the soon-to-conclude Jeopardy! particular High School Reunion Tournament. Jeopardy! legend Ken Jennings, who hosts the common primetime present, will return to the lectern on March 10.

A faction of followers have complained on social media about Jennings’ absence, with plenty of them commenting that they like him internet hosting the beloved syndicated quiz present to Bialik, who presents the franchise’s spinoffs and tournaments.

"Jeopardy!" host Mayim Bialik discusses ego
Mayim Bialik is pictured on May 9, 2017 in New York City. The “Jeopardy!” host this week mentioned ego in a podcast episode.
Robin Marchant/Getty Images

Amid the continued feedback, Bialik this week took to Instagram to preview a clip from her podcast Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown, by which she mentioned her ego.

Speaking with Buddhist Boot Camp writer Timber Hawkeye, she mentioned: “I’ve actually been noticing, you know, a lot of places where my ego is, it’s wanting love, you know. It’s wanting acknowledgment in ways that I’m now realizing, ‘Oh, that’s just ego.'”

“A lot of times, it’s the child in me that wants to be told like, ‘You did good, you’re a good person,'” she added because the seconds-long clip got here to a detailed.

The put up sparked a dialog amongst Bialik’s Instagram followers, certainly one of whom commented: “I think everyone just needs to hear we are good-hearted people or that we did good. Actually, we don’t say it enough to others. It’s so nice to be supported and held up by others. Kindness spreads like wildlife.”

“I feel like it’s what we missed out on when we were kids or teens, some part of us still craves what we didn’t get in our formative years,” wrote one other.

Another countered: “I don’t think it’s ego, I think it’s just being human. Especially in this day when everyone is ready to attack, we need kind words.”

“Sometimes sitting down and being introspective like this can be so difficult but refreshing to see things from a new perspective,” famous one other. “Love this conversation!”

It was confirmed final July that Bialik and Jennings had signed new Jeopardy! contracts after sharing the duties as interim hosts of the present for a lot of Season 38. They changed beloved host Alex Trebek, who died in November 2020.

Former Jeopardy! government producer Mike Richards was initially introduced because the everlasting host in August 2021, however he stepped down simply 9 days later. Bialik instantly stuffed in and was later joined by Jennings.

During an look on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast in August, Bialik and Jennings spoke with host Sarah Whitcomb Foss about how they cope with on-line backlash from followers of the syndicated quiz present.

“We’re still people, so I can’t say that when you hear things that are constructive criticism that you don’t start thinking a little bit too much about it,” Bialik mentioned. “But, I don’t know, I kind of take everybody’s opinion both with a grain of salt and also believe everybody has a right to their opinion.”

For Jennings, the backlash got here early, when he noticed that some folks have been “sick of” him within the earlier levels of his run as a Jeopardy! contestant in 2004. Jennings nonetheless holds the report of the present’s longest win streak, at 74 episodes.

“Even as a contestant, I remember being shocked at how free—it was the early days of the internet, but people were still very much like, ‘Oh, I’m sick of this guy already.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, there’s like three more months [of me]… This guy’s gonna have a bad summer!’ I just kind of had to dissociate.

“You know what, Jeopardy! has received such a giant, numerous viewers. You’re not going to have the ability to please everyone each night time. But I feel that is the advantage of getting a few hosts. You know, it is a large, numerous viewers and possibly that helps broaden the tent. It’s a matter of style internet hosting fashion.”

Last June, Bialik opened up about being on the receiving end of harsh comments from some Jeopardy! fans before being announced as a permanent host.

Speaking with Justin Long on an episode of her podcast, the TV personality revealed that viewers often compare her to Jennings.

Actor and comedian Long broached the subject when he asked Bialik if she was ever made aware that she was favored over Jennings by Jeopardy! fans.

“Sometimes,” Bialik responded, adding that “typically I get, ‘We do not favor you to Ken.'”

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