Mayim Bialik has had an uphill battle with the Jeopardy! fans. This week, she and the writers are in hot water over a marijuana joke. Let us learn what is going on.
An Off-Color Joke
The category was “Ripped From The Headlines” on the May 24 edition of Jeopardy!. The answer was “Marijuana issue sent to this ‘committee’ generally composed of members of both houses of a legislature.” Reigning champion and cat fosterer Ryan Long guessed bipartisan committee, but he was incorrect.
The correct question was “what is a joint committee.” Bialik added, “Get it?” The studio audience did, for there was a bit of laughter. The joke here is obvious, just a simple double entendre involving the two meanings of the word “joint.” Bialik and the Jeopardy! writers are hardly the first people to notice this.
In 2015, Massachusetts Senate President Stanley Rosenberg brought up legislative action on marijuana. He highlighted the futility of the enterprise by noting it would all take place in joint committees. Rosenberg laughed and explained: “That’s really funny. I didn’t try to be funny. They are called joint committees.” One would think a joke good enough for a politician would be good enough for Jeopardy!.
Immediate Hatred For Bialik
While the joke left most folks unfazed, a few Twitter users were not happy about what they heard. One user wrote, “Oh, but won’t the #Jeopardy writers PLEASE think of the children watching, and their delicate ears that were just exposed to a cannabis reference?” This almost sounds like a Simpsons reference, but it still resonated with some folks.
Twitter being Twitter, things slowly snowballed into a pile-on on Bialik. Some sprang to her defense. The original writer deleted the tweet, writing afterward “things can continue to snowball without your knowing it.”
One user took the comment personally, noting that alcohol is far deadlier than cannabis and “ignorant jokes like yours don’t help.” Twitter is nothing if not divisive.
Another person pointed out what a nonissue this all is. If an actual child did “get it,” then they’ve already been exposed to weed.
Bialik Cannot Win
A few months ago, Bialik was at the center of controversy when she briefly called the opening round of Jeopardy! the “single Jeopardy” round. Twitter had a field day, and Bialik addressed the matter. She said, “It’s not like Mayim’s going rogue! Everything is very carefully monitored. There’s a thing in my ear, I promise.”
Bearing this in mind, the one-off joke probably isn’t even her fault. The Big Bang Theory star has been bashed for far more than Trebek ever was. This one weed joke was more lame than harmful, so hopefully, everyone can just move on.
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