Outside of its celebrity spinoff, it’s pretty rare to recognize one of Jeopardy!'s contestants from another corner of the pop culture world, so Survivor fans were in for quite a surprise when Drew Basile showed up on the Alex Trebek Stage on June 19. The Survivor 45 cast member was known to rub some people the wrong way with his ego on the long-running CBS reality show, and it seems he’s having the same issue on one of the best game shows of all time as his Jeopardy! winnings continue to build.
Drew Basile made an immediate splash on Jeopardy!, coming in as a “giant-killer” and unseating 15-day champ Adriana Harmeyer. His run so far — he had six wins and $111,601 going into the June 27 episode — has continued to be dramatic, as he’s won in runaway fashion (i.e. having more than double his competitors heading into Final Jeopardy!) and in close games, including one that went to a tie-breaker. Some fans, however, are not entertained by the confident 23-year-old. According to one X (Twitter) user:
I didn’t like Drew when he beat Jeopardy super champion Adriana Harmeyer but I really dislike him now after his obnoxious fist-pumping following tonight’s tie-breaker.
I completely understand being a little bitter about Drew Basile ending Adriana Harmeyer’s run. As a daily Jeopardy! viewer myself, I admit to going into a brief period of mourning. But more than that, it does seem to be that same cocky attitude that Drew showed on Survivor — where he called himself one of the smartest people to ever appear on the reality competition show — that’s got Jeopardy! fans up in arms.
After he secured his fifth win — thus qualifying for the Tournament of Champions — several of the quiz show viewers cited his fist-pumping celebrations, clapping for himself and failure to shake hands with other contestants as reasons for disliking Drew Basile. Comments on Jeopardy!’s official Instagram page included:
- Maybe he doesn’t handshake cause he has sweaty hands 🤝 but yes it doesn’t not come off as a gracious consecutive winner. – catneydogney
- Who claps for themselves? I'm trying not to hate but it's real hard – caraecal
- There's a difference between healthy self-confidence and egocentrism. He lost me when didn't even shake the hand of the man with whom he tied in Final. An air of real narcissism. – beinjudy
- He lost me when he dropped the “oh this was part of my thesis” before replying – liamswag1
- I’ve never seen anyone clap soooooo much for himself👏 – billdiver
- If drew has 1 million haters I am one of them. If drew has one hater, it’s me. If drew has no haters, I am dead. – lukephillips.x
However, not everyone is put off by Drew Basile’s ability to “Outwit. Outplay. Outlast” his Jeopardy! competitors. Many viewers have spoken out saying they love the energy he brings to the show, and they’re defending his right to show enthusiasm for being successful. One fan tweeted:
OH 6 DAY CHAMPION WE LOVE TO SEE IT DREW
Another fan took to Reddit to share why they think Drew is exactly the kind of contestant Jeopardy! needs. It doesn’t hurt that this person is a Survivor fan as well! They wrote:
Maybe it’s the Survivor fan in me, but I find Drew absolutely fantastic to watch on my screen. He’s young, excited, energetic, and should absolutely celebrate winning a life changing amount of money and doing fantastic on a game show. Does he have his quirks and make me nervous as all get out when he forgets to phrase in the form of a question? Absolutely! But nothing he has done has been downright off putting or ‘wrong’. He may not be a cookie cutter example of what people want to see, but he has been an absolute joy to watch and I want him to continue his streak long into the future. Let’s go Drew!
Love him or hate him, Drew Basile is drawing attention to Jeopardy!, and that means fans are making sure to tune into the answer-and-question game on a daily basis. As one viewer put it:
Drew on Jeopardy = appointment tv.
We’ll see how long he can keep the streak alive — could he become one of the biggest winners in Jeopardy! history? — but one way or another, we’re guaranteed to see Drew Basile again come tournament time. Check your local listings to see when to catch Jeopardy! in your area, and take a peek at our 2024 TV schedule to see what premieres are coming soon.
