Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings’ ego is apparently growing by the minute after Mayim Bialik is on hiatus from the show, according to an insider.
Jennings, 49, is “is throwing his weight around and acting like he owns the place these days. He’s even demanding a fatter paycheck,” a source dished.
However, it doesn’t sound like he will be breaking the bank anytime soon. “They’re not just going to throw money at him. Ken still has a lot to prove, although he may not think so. The pressure is squarely on his shoulders now to deliver ratings and live up to all the hype he’s created for himself,” the insider said.
As OK! previously reported, after Pat Sajak announced he would be stepping down as host from Wheel of Fortune, Jennings and Bialik are nervous for what the future holds for them.
“Pat Sajak’s departure and the way Vanna White’s been treated serve as a stark reminder there’s no room for complacency in this cutthroat game show world,” the source dished to RadarOnline. “Ken and Mayim are under no illusions about that! There’s a serious possibility they’ll both be booted in favor of some hotshot.”
Jennings and the actress don’t always see eye to eye, which doesn’t make the producers want to keep them around.
“Word is their bosses are sick of them fighting and have considered replacing them both with a more fan-friendly host,” the source spilled. “Mayim and Ken are finally seeing the writing on the wall and they’re determined to keep the ratings up and prove their worth, one episode at a time.”
The two hosts are on a mission to get more money from their gig — but time will tell if that happens.
“They’re griping that they’re ONLY getting about $1 million to host the whole season while Alex pulled in $10 million a year, and they don’t think it’s fair!” the source said, referring to late host Alex Trebek, who passed away in 2020.
Since Mayim Bialik has not been on, we started watching Jeopardy again. Her stiff presentation turned us off, Jennings is easier to take and we feel is doing a good job.
With the money these shows throw around, he’s entitled to a few more bucks.
Replace him and we may just replace Jeopardy with other programming. There’s plenty
around to choose from
ONLY one million dollars for a year??? And that’s not their only income????? How could they possibly expect to get a salary anywhere near Alex Trebek’s being as how he was host for MANY years?
I totally disagree, I will not watch if he is permanent host. I guess it’s because I remember he was host when the ruling was that ambiguous and ambivalent mean the same thing. Not when I went to school. Over 40, guess that it explains it.
Ken should probably get an increase in today’s world. He makes one tenth of what Alex made and he is doing a good job. Maybe not 5 million a year yet, but double his salary to 2 million a year with a chance to review this in a year based on his performance. Let’s all be fair here.