Jeopardy! guest host Dr Oz accused of ‘making fun’ of contestant behind her back during stint on show
JEOPARDY! guest host Dr Oz was accused of “making fun” of a contestant behind her back during his stint on the show.
The celebrity doctor was slammed by over 500 former contestants and winners of the show after filling in as a guest host.
But recent winner Emily Seaman says he made her the butt of the joke – and claims he mocked her behind her back.
Speaking to The Ringer, Emily said: “It was just odd. I don’t think he likes Jeopardy!“
She added: “I heard him making fun of it to one of the producers. Like, ‘I can’t believe they didn’t get this one’.
“I was like, ‘Cool, bro – let’s see you do this’.”
Dr Oz filled in as guest host between March 22 to April 2.
The long-running show has invited a variety of A-List stars to guest host until a permanent one takes over for Alex Trebek, the beloved presenter who died of pancreatic cancer last year.
She also claimed he struggled to pronounce “antidisestablishmentarianism” and it took him “seven or eight times” to film it correctly.
Dr. Oz, a former health expert on The Oprah Winfrey Show, has long been a controversial figure in the medical world.
In the letter from former contestants and winners posted last month, they slammed: “Throughout his nearly two decades on television he has used his authority as a doctor to push harmful ideas onto the American public.
“In stark contrast with his oath to first do no harm.”
These include, “legitimizing gay conversion therapy (which is banned in California, as well as 19 other states),” “dangerous ‘cures’ for autism,” and, most recently, “the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19.”
In 2014 a British Medical Journal study even went so far as to declare half of his medical advice “baseless or wrong,” and in 2015 a group of his peers petitioned to have him removed from Columbia Medical School.
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The letter ends: “Jeopardy! is known for being incredibly rigorous; a well-deserved reputation. As contestants, we’ve all seen what happens behind the scenes if there’s any doubt about a question.
“We’ve seen writers and judges frantically cross-reference answers in real time to make sure that the facts are accurate. To then invite Dr. Oz to guest-host is a slap in the face to all involved.”
The massively popular has already seen various notable faces behind the podium, including Katie Couric and former champion Ken Jennings.