Weed Joke on Jeopardy! Triggers viewers

A harmless cannabis joke is at the center of controversy after fans responded to comments about a recent Jeopardy! Consequence. The show is often the subject of bizarre controversies affecting its older audience, seemingly invented out of thin air.

Danger! Hosts Mayim Bialik already faced an uphill battle to be accepted by the fans. For example, Bialik was earlier confronted on social media about repeatedly wearing the same outfit on the show.

Following the death of beloved longtime host Alex Trebek in 2020, Bialik was chosen to host the game show and co-host another version of the show with series champion Ken Jennings. Jennings won 74 consecutive episodes of the show — the longest streak the show has ever seen. Almost every show host has faced uphill attempts to follow in Trebek’s footsteps.

Current contestant Bonnie Kistler, a novelist, chose the “Ripped From The Headlines” category for $400 on the episode of Jeopardy! aired as Season 38 Episode 182.

Participants were confronted with the phrase, “Marijuana matters are referred to this ‘committee,’ which is generally composed of members of both houses of a legislature.”

Contestant Ryan Long, the show’s current reigning champion, guessed, “What is a bipartisan committee?” but he guessed wrong. Long is a rideshare driver by trade and has gone 12 straight episodes of the show unbeaten.

Danger! Co-host Bialik said the right question to ask is “What is a joint committee?”

Bialik added, “Got it?” with a chuckle, indicating the double entender and eliciting muted laughter from the crowd.

Even the slightest reference to the “Devil’s Salad” is enough to cause controversy among the mostly older fans of the series. In 2011, Newsweek reported that the show’s median viewer was 65 — after years of modernizing the show. Before that, the average age of viewers was 70!

It’s not the first time the joke about “joint committees” has surfaced. In 2015, Massachusetts Senate President Stanley Rosenberg brought up an article on cannabis reform, noting that it would take place in joint committees. Rosenberg said: “That’s really funny. I wasn’t trying to be funny. They are called joint committees.”

While the joke was well received by most viewers, some Twitter users didn’t have it — they slammed the show, as did Bialik, who wasn’t easily accepted anyway. One Twitter user wrote, “Oh, but won’t the #Jeopardy writers PLEASE think of the kids watching and their tender ears that have just been exposed to a cannabis reference?” Referring to an oft-cited episode of The Simpsons .

Why don’t people leave her alone!!!!! I love their oddities. If you don’t like her, don’t watch. I don’t like Ken so I don’t watch when he’s that easy

— Beth lerch (@lerch_beth) May 25, 2022

Fans have already asked Bialik to “be considerate of the kids” when it comes to adult issues. One user replied, noting that alcohol is more dangerous than cannabis. “Ignorant jokes like yours don’t help.”

I checked your TL for tweets condemning alcohol and found nothing but this “joke”. I know it’s all funny pretending cannabis is dangerous but a lot of people are living off medical cannabis right now and ignorant jokes like yours aren’t helping https://t.co/VSSKpJcPje

— Andrew McFarlane (@farlanewastaken) May 26, 2022

The show’s late former host, Alex Trebek, might also crack a joke or two about cannabis.

When interviewed by Marlon Stowe for The Daily Beast, Trebek recalled a time when he got wasted on hash edibles because he accidentally took too many of them. We all know how that can turn out.

“That was random! I didn’t know what they were,” Trebek said. “I had just arrived in California and went to a friend’s house for dinner and they had brownies. I love brownies – I’m a chocoholic – and didn’t know they were hash brownies. And… wow. That upset me. I’ve done about half a dozen.”

Fans of the show are urged to give Bialik a shot as the show’s new host, along with Jennings and all of the other new hosts.