Right off the heels of Mike Richards permanently stepping down from the show, it looks like the Jeopardy! host competition just got a little bit more interesting. In a recent video for his channel The Film Theorists, Mat Pat has started a campaign to become the new host. He’s started a Change.org petition that has already gotten over 7,000 signatures.
In his latest video, he outlined why choosing a new and younger host would be good for the show as a strategy to draw in new audiences and to make sure the information presented on the show remained relevant going forward. He also discussed how YouTubers are used to working in the kind of environments for quickly filmed low-budget shows just like Jeopardy!.
“Duh, of course I would love to host Jeopardy!. It is literally in the title of this video. I would like to nominate myself for the role. I think I’d be great… You get 0% of the jobs you don’t apply for, so here I am! I have four YouTube channels that have threaded the needle of information and entertainment for ten years.”
After he called for fans to Tweet at the official Jeopardy! account, #whoismatpat began to trend on Twitter with many fans championing him as the new host for the show. He also suggested YouTubers like Derik Miller from Vertitasium, Diana Cowern, and Michael Stevens, Kevin Lieber, or Jake Roper of VSauce fame as potential hosts. While fans are fighting for Mat Pat, these may be better choices for several reasons.
In his video, he mentioned how Mayim Bialik is currently under fire for her previous comments but failed to mention he has been mired in controversy in the past as well. He butted heads with Undertale creator Tody Fox and Pirate Software after breaking YouTube’s rules about tagging content and using false promotional strategies while playing the game Heartbound. He has also been accused of falsely using the suicide of famous YouTuber Etika as a way to push a narrative on cancel culture that had nothing to do with his death.
On top of this, he has shared a lot of controversial statements within his own videos. He used transphobic language like “shemale” in a video about Team Fortress 2‘s Pyro that also included bigoted pseudoscience about gay men. He also made a video where he made several transphobic “attack helicopter” jokes that while he has since apologized for, still rubbed many fans the wrong way. He also made a video justifying the use of black face in the Pokemon Jynx’s design.
On top of all of this, he has also been accused of plagiarism in the past as well as stealing fan art for his videos without the artist’s permission. In fact, there is an entire blog dedicated to keeping receipts on Mat Pat’s previous controversial actions. Needless to say, the YouTuber has a lot going against him.
Will his previous comments get him ousted from the running just like Ken Jennings? Could LeVar Burton or even Ru Paul actually have a shot at hosting the show? Only time will tell who will take over for Alex Trebek on Jeopardy! but it’s become obvious that his shoes are almost impossible to fill.
