#BoycottJeopardy: Alumni of game show criticise choice of Dr Oz as guest host

In an open letter with more than 600 signatories, former guests have said that Dr Oz has pushed harmful ideas to the public

Dr Oz is acting as a guest host on TV show 'Jeopardy!' until April. Getty Images

More than 600 former guests of Jeopardy are calling for current guest host Dr Oz to be removed from the popular game show.

Dr Oz began his guest-hosting duties on March 22 and is scheduled to continue until April 2.

In an open letter published on Medium in February and addressed to the show's executive producer Mike Richards, the signatories stated that "Dr Oz stands in opposition to everything that Jeopardy! stands for".

"Jeopardy! is a show that values facts and knowledge. Throughout his nearly two decades on television he has used his authority as a doctor to push harmful ideas on to the American public, in stark contrast with his oath to first do no harm."

The alumni guests pointed to several of Dr Oz’s previous actions, including promoting the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for Covid-19 and supporting unproven dietary supplements and autism “cures”.

Mehmet Oz, known professionally as Dr Oz, is a Turkish-American TV personality and cardiothoracic surgeon who graduated from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

“None of these things are backed by any scientific fact and by promoting them he is actively putting his viewers in danger. In fact, his ideas are so dangerous that thousands of his colleagues have petitioned to have him fired from his position at Columbia Medical School,” the letter continued.

Since 1984, Alex Trebek served as Jeopardy!'s host. His death in November 2020, which came after years of battling pancreatic cancer, caused an outpouring of grief from fans. Trebek's final episodes, filmed in October 2020, aired at the beginning of the year.

Sony Pictures Television, which produces the show, has yet to announce a permanent host that would follow Trebek, but has brought in several guest hosts, including Katie Couric and Sanjay Gupta.

Following Dr Oz’s debut, fans have also voiced their opposition on Twitter, with some stating that they will not watch the show while he is the host. The hashtag #BoycottJeopardy began gaining traction of the social media platform this week.

Producers of the show have yet to respond the criticism.