Sony Hack: Alex Trebek Nearly Quit 'Jeopardy!' Over Kids Week Mishap

The latest leak from the Sony Pictures Entertainment hack reveals that Alex Trebek was on the verge of bailing on Jeopardy! after being asked to re-tape a segment during Kids Week.

During day three of the youth-themed competition, one contestant finished the competition in negative numbers, thus eliminating her from the game and preventing her from competing in Final Jeopardy.

"We have bad news for you, because you're in the negative situation, it means you won't be around for Final Jeopardy," Trebek said in the segment, which aired on December 3rd. "But you'll automatically pick up $1000 for a third place finish."

And this is where the drama comes in: the contestant was apparently "visibly upset" and ran backstage, leaving producers feeling that while Trebek did follow protocol, he didn't do a good enough job making the contestant feel better.

Credit: Sony Pictures Television

The emails reveal that Trebek was asked to re-tape this moment in order to "appease an upset mother who could start another feeding frenzy about Alex's perceived insensitivity," since the girl's mother apparently wrote a strongly-worded letter to producers expressing she was "quite a bit taken aback" at Trebek's handling of the situation.

"If he had taken the time, he would have known, like you do, that my daughter is not a sore loser, and does not become emotional solely over losing a game," she wrote. "She was upset about not being able to completely play the game to the end… I don't think I'll ever forgive him for that."

Well, technically, if you're upset that ending the game $1400 in debt prevents you from competing at the end against the other kids, both of whom were better at the game than you proved to be, and then you get in a huff and throw a tantrum, necessitating your mother writing a letter to producers? Pretty sure that's the definition of being a sore loser.

If nothing else, it's easy to see why Trebek would be upset at being asked to re-tape, since the producers were essentially siding with a woman who apparently didn't recognize what she was signing her kid up for.

"If you all think I should retape the opening, I will," Trebek wrote. "But I want to say that for 30 years I've defended our show against attacks inside and out. But it doesn’t seem to operate both ways. When I'm vilified, corporate (and certainly legal) always seems to say 'don't say anything and it'll blow over,' and I'm not feeling support from the producers, and that disappoints the s—t out of me."

"If I'm making mistakes and saying things you don’t like, maybe it's time for me to move on," he closed. "It's not a threat, but I want to let you know how I'm feeling."

It appears the situation may have blown over internally, since Trebek is still on-board and hasn't announced his departure or anything. But I really can't say I blame Trebek for being upset, since the show doesn't seem intent on standing beside him, even though the emails with producers admit "Alex's intentions were good," and that he followed the show's protocol for when a contestant ends in debt. Ultimately, it wouldn't surprise me if he left soon. At 74-years-old, a man can only take Sean Connery's B.S. for so long...

Via: Us Magazine