Alex Trebek has faced all kinds of contestants during his 32 years as host of Jeopardy, and he's been called upon to banter about an endless variety of topics. He usually finds ways to be pretty complimentary in his banter, even finding fun new factoids to chat about with contestants who have been on the show for weeks due to crazy winning streaks. Recently, however, Trebek had something not-so-nice to say to one of the competitors. Check it out!
I'll take unexpected burns for $2000, Alex! Contestant Susan Cole's reveal that she loves nerdcore brought out a side of Alex Trebek rarely seen on Jeopardy. The man can rap TV theme songs, drop Motley Crue lyrics, and say "Turd Ferguson" without missing a beat. Even one contestant's tangent about Japanese men's sex lives wasn't enough for Trebek to start teasing. Apparently, mentions of nerdcore remove all filters from Alex Trebek. The "Losers!" seems more like something Will Ferrell would have said in a Celebrity Jeopardy sketch on SNL that something the real Trebek would say on television.
In Alex Trebek's defense, Susan Cole did sort of set him up for a punchline like "Losers!" He didn't have to go for such a strong word, but if she was going to tee him up with her descriptions of nerdcore, she probably shouldn't blame him too much for swinging for the fences. For any who don't know, nerdcore is a genre of hip hop all about topics that are generally considered "nerdy." It's a way for people whose interests aren't always celebrated in mainstream media to share what they love, and it can actually be pretty entertaining to see how elaborate and creative fans of nerdcore can get with their music. Kudos to Susan Cole for laughing off Trebek's comment.
I think my favorite part of the clip has to be the audience's reaction to Trebek's comment. It was like they didn't know whether they should laugh or groan at Trebek's surprise insult. I wouldn't be shocked if the insult didn't actually register with everybody at first. Alex Trebek has such a warm voice that "Losers!" may not have seemed quite so rude at first. Besides, he usually has so much restraint that it wouldn't be entirely unreasonable if a few of the people in the audience needed a moment to wonder if "Losers!" was actually French for "What an interesting anecdote!"
Luckily, Susan Cole got the last laugh in her Jeopardy debut. She beat out the other two contestants and will return for another round of trivia competition. Who knows? Maybe the insult from Alex Trebek will give her extra motivation to be a big winner. She's definitely not a loser when it comes to Jeopardy. Hopefully Trebek will be a bit nicer for her second go. It may all depend on what categories Cole faces next.
Take a look at our TV schedule to see what non-Jeopardy shows you can catch on the small screen this fall.
