After a confrontation with a Maspeth mom last month, Alex Trebek almost left television.
The news came to light as part of the Sony email hack.
While filming for the third night of the Jeopardy Kids special, which aired earlier this month, local 11-year-old Gabrielle Fusco was told by Trebek that she wouldn’t be moving on to the final round, and she ran off stage crying leading to her mother asking for a chance to have the segment re-taped.
About 17 minutes and 20 seconds into the YouTube video depicting the episode, Trebek can be seen telling Fusco, “We have bad news for you. Because you’re in the negative situation, you won’t be joining us for Final Jeopardy, but you’ll automatically pick up $1,000 for a third-place finish.”
Gabrielle’s mother said in an email the producers of Jeopardy! that she didn’t know if she’d ever forgive Trebek for his insensitivity.
“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,” Fusco’s mom said in an email. “She was upset about not being able to completely play the game to the end.”
Trebek’s response to the incident, according to the leak, was to say that he would leave the show if the executives weren’t going to defend him.
“If you all think I should retape the opening, I will…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,” Trebek allegedly wrote.
He went on to say, “If I’m making mistakes and saying things you don’t like, maybe it’s time for me to move on. It’s not a threat, but I want to let you know how I’m feeling.”
If nothing else, maybe Trebek will learn from this experience not to cross a Maspeth mom.
Terrible parenting. Trebek simply stated the rules of the game, which the daughter should have known WELL before participating. Not only is the mother a bad teacher, for not teaching her child that you don’t just cry and run away when something doesn’t go your way, but to complain that it was “insensitive”? Give me a break. I have 2 daughters, and at a recent birthday party they attended, my 5-year-old was eliminated from a game of “Hot Potato”. When she was out, she came to me, sat down, and said, “I had the potato when the music stopped, so I’m out. That’s the rules of the game, so I can’t play anymore.” Reminder, she’s 5. Teach your kids that rules are meant to be followed… and that if you don’t like the rules of the game, you can choose not to play. Absolutely ridiculous.
I am a retired teacher, and as such I feel the mom was at fault, a good parent teaches their child losing is a part of life! If the young lady couldn’t answer the questions she didn’t deserve to go on. she hardly lost or was a loser.
She was chosen form a long list and she left with $1,000!
But the mother’s ranting and overprotecting made her daughter feel like a loser!
My dad taught me: THERE ARE THOSE BETTER THAN YOU AND THOSE WORSE THAN YOU. THERE ARE THOSE RICHER THAN YOU AND THOSE POORER THAN YOU. THERE ARE THOSE MORE HANDSOME THAN YOU AND THOSE THAT ARE NOT GOOD LOOKING. That’s teaching humility.
This mom missed the point and as a result caused major problems.
You enter a game show hoping you’ll win but then you may loose, you have to be prepared for both!
Alex said to her what he says to grown ups as well: Since you are in a negative situation you will not be going on to FINAL JEOPARDY!
And then was positive by adding but you’ll be getting $1,000 (the usual amount for 3rd place!)!
I am a Brooklyn boy and as such I expect a lot from people especially grown ups, this mother failed in both!
So sorry but I am brutally honest!
>>>If nothing else, maybe Trebek will learn from this experience not to cross a Maspeth mom.<<<
HUH? The kid finished with negative money and by rule, she is knocked out of Final Jeopardy. There is nothing Maspeth moms can do about that.
Just another child raised in the “Everybody is a Winner” generation. Sorry kids, but sadly in life there are winners and losers. Always been that way, always will be that way. Life lesson learned. Trebek was just stating the rules of the contest. Shame on the producers for wanting to cave in to the demands of a whiny mother.
Seriously? Alex was within his rights completely.
Offer the mom a chance to pay the negative amount for her child to continue to Final Jeopardy. Then let’s see how determined she is to get her daughter’s special on.
Wow, this mom. Shame. I mean her kid got $1000! She should get on the program, to show her ways if she loses (I’m guessing she dosen’t win, I mean it is a one-third chance.
And this is why there hasn’t been another Kids Week since 2014.