'Jeopardy!''s James Holzhauer Roasts 'Wheel of Fortune' Over New Host—'Savage'

By

Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, newspapers and broadcast, specializing in entertainment, politics, LGBTQ+ and health reporting. Shannon has covered high profile celebrity trials along with industry analysis of all the big trends in media, pop culture and the entertainment business generally. Shannon stories have featured on the cover of the Newsweek magazine and has been published in publications such as, The Guardian, Monocle, The Independent, SBS, ABC, Metro and The Sun. You can get in touch with Shannon by email at s.power@newsweek.com and on X @shannonjpower. Languages: English, Greek, Spanish.


Writers Page
Pop Culture & Entertainment Reporter
Trust Project Icon Newsweek Is A Trust Project Member

🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.

One of Jeopardy!'s all-time greatest champs has poked fun at the quiz show's struggle to find a new host after veteran frontman Alex Trebek passed away in 2020.

James Holzhauer had 32 nights of consecutive wins on Jeopardy! in 2019 and is the third-highest-earning American game-show contestant of all time.

James Holzhauer smiling
James Holzhauer attends the ABC Television's Winter Press Tour 2020 at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena on January 8, 2020 in Pasadena, California. He has gone viral on Twitter for his joke about the new "Wheel... Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage

But he recently took to Twitter to address the news that Ryan Seacrest would be the new host of Wheel of Fortune after Pat Sajak announced his retirement following 41 seasons.

Holzhauer joked about the simplicity of replacing Sajak with Seacrest in comparison to the woes of finding a replacement for Trebek, who died of pancreatic cancer three years ago.

After Trebek's death, a revolving door of celebrity hosts stepped in to front Jeopardy!. Then, former executive producer Mike Richards was named as the new permanent host with Blossom actress Mayim Bialik filling in for specials and tournaments.

However, just nine days after the announcement, Richards quite the role over a backlash over offensive comments he had made several years ago on a podcast. He also left his producing role shortly after that.

Bialik and Ken Jennings—Jeopardy!'s all-time greatest winner— were eventually announced as the permanent co-hosts after all of the drama.

"Wheel of Fortune went about this all wrong," Holzhauer began his tweet, which has been viewed 1.3 million times.

"First you subject the contestants and viewers to an endless parade of temps who don't prepare before hosting.

"Then the producer in charge of the search says 'Actually, *I* would be the perfect host'. Then 'jk [joking] we have two hosts now'," Holzhauer added.

Fans on Reddit picked up the tweet and joked about the "burn" Holzhauer had just served. "Pretty savage from James haha," wrote one person.

Another added: "If you're quiet enough and listen real closely you can hear Mike Richards' skin sizzling from that burn."

Sajak recently announced his retirement from presenting Wheel of Fortune, with many quickly speculating who would fill his shoes as host. The View co-presenter Whoopi Goldberg said she would be keen to take the job, but the role was eventually handed to American Idol host Seacrest. He took to his Instagram to say he was "humbled" to be replacing the legendary Sajak.

"I'm truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak. I can say, along with the rest of America, that it's been a privilege and pure joy to watch Pat and Vanna on our television screens for an unprecedented 40 years, making us smile every night and feel right at home with them," Seacrest wrote. "Pat, I love the way you've always celebrated the contestants and made viewers at home feel at ease. I look forward to learning everything I can from you during this transition."

Sajak will step down after the 41st season of Wheel of Fortune in June 2024.

Request Reprint & Licensing Submit Correction View Editorial & AI Guidelines

Top stories

About the writer

Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, newspapers and broadcast, specializing in entertainment, politics, LGBTQ+ and health reporting. Shannon has covered high profile celebrity trials along with industry analysis of all the big trends in media, pop culture and the entertainment business generally. Shannon stories have featured on the cover of the Newsweek magazine and has been published in publications such as, The Guardian, Monocle, The Independent, SBS, ABC, Metro and The Sun. You can get in touch with Shannon by email at s.power@newsweek.com and on X @shannonjpower. Languages: English, Greek, Spanish.


Writers Page

Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more