Helicopter Mom Nearly Drove Alex Trebek To Quit Jeopardy

alex-trebekThe latest leak of emails from the giant Sony hack shows an interaction between Jeopardy host Alex Trebek and producers of the show. It seems a helicopter mom so upset over her daughter’s loss during a recent Kid’s Week taping tried to get producers to reshoot an opening segment. Trebek was not pleased. So much so, he insinuated it may be time for him to “move on.”

The first week of December, Jeopardy had a “Kids Week.” One of the young contestants ended the show with negative dollars, which meant she could not go on to Final Jeopardy. From Radar Online:

In the video that aired on Wednesday, Dec. 3, Trebek tells the contestant, who ended up $1,400 in debt, “We have bad news for you, because you’re in the negative situation, it means you won’t be around for Final Jeopardy, but you’ll automatically pick up $1000 for a third place finish.”

The girl’s mother thought Trebek’s treatment of the girl was “insensitive.” Not really sure if she expected Trebek to come out from his podium and give her daughter a hug or what, but rules are rules. Here is the interaction that transpired between the mother and producers:

“She was visibly upset” and ran backstage crying with her mother, a producer writes in the emails. The producer and her mother eventually calmed the girl and she returned to the set to watch the taping of another episode from the audience. But the mother wrote in a letter to producers that she “was quite a bit taken back” with Trebek’s reaction.

According to the mom, Trebek didn’t ever console the girl backstage. “If he had taken the time, he would have known, like you do, that my daughter is not a sore loser, and does not become emotional solely over losing a game,” the woman wrote. “She was upset about not being able to completely play the game to the end.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever forgive him for that,” the girl’s mom wrote in a letter to Jeopardy! producers.

I’m pretty sure the young girl and her mother have seen Jeopardy before, and know that if you end with negative dollars, you don’t get to “completely play the game to the end.”

Jezebel commenters who had seen the segment filled in the blanks for what happened after the girl lost. According to what they saw, the young girl was so upset about the loss that she did not return to the stage to stand beside her competitors while they answered the Final Jeopardy question. Trebek addressed this in his opening segment for the next show. He reportedly said:

Thank you, Johnny. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome. I’m sure you’ve noticed that one of the main differences between our kids week shows and our regular fare, aside from the age factor, of course, is the element of emotion. As talented as they are, these very bright young people, haven’t yet had too many experiences in life where they were not the winners. And that can be pretty tough on some of them. Nevertheless, we hope that their visit to Jeopardy! winds up being viewed by them as a positive one. Olivia, Courtney, and Zane, welcome, good luck. Let’s go to work. Here are the categories for the first round of play today…

The girl, who had just calmed down enough to join the studio audience and watch the second taping, was upset again by Trebek alluding to her loss in the opening segment of the next day’s show. That’s the bit the mom wanted reshot. Oh my god. The show’s producers actually considered bending to this woman’s will and reshooting the show because her precious daughter’s feelings were hurt. Radar reports that the show’s producers, looking “to appease an upset mother who could start another feeding frenzy about Alex’s perceived insensitivity,” then asked Trebek to redo the segment. This is where Trebek responded, “If I’m making mistakes and saying things you don’t like, maybe it’s time for me to move on.”

I’m on team Trebek. I’m sorry the little girl’s feelings were hurt, but if her mother is going to allow her to enter into a competition she needs to teach her how to lose gracefully. The world isn’t going to give you a hug when you fail. Sorry, kid. Instead of using this as a teachable moment, this mom tried to manipulate the world into a kinder, friendly place for her daughter. Doesn’t work that way.

(photo: Jeopardy.com)

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