# Alex Trebek was a real jerk to this stay at home dad on Jeopardy tonight **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 16, 2015, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274 "2015-07-16T00:06:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/21 "2015-07-16T06:48:21Z")
Having been a stay-at-home dad for many years, I wouldn’t have been particularly upset by any of Alex’s comments. I’ve pretty much come to expect such things. But then again, I have a rather thick skin. I do wish he’d spend less time chatting with the contestants, though. And I really don’t see the point in wishing all three of them “Good luck!” Two of them are gonna lose, unless there’s a tie (though I don’t think they allow that any more). ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/22 "2015-07-16T10:02:48Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Of course it is. You expect a man born in the 1940s to have the sensibilities of one born in 1986? > > We are all products of our time and childhoods. Ahem. I was born in the 1940s, though several years after Trebek. My sensibilities are just fine, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/23 "2015-07-16T11:23:53Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Ahem. I was born in the 1940s, though several years after Trebek. My sensibilities are just fine, thank you. I am sure Alex feels the same. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/24 "2015-07-16T11:34:24Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > I really don’t see it as a slight. I don’t really see it as rude, either. Sounds more to me like he cracked a joke and it didn’t land. Would the remarks have been acceptable if said to a woman? Of course not. So why are they acceptable when said to a man? ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/25 "2015-07-16T11:41:09Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > By the time I am 80. I expect to be able to say anything I want with impunity. I was at my best friend’s 50th birthday party a couple years ago, and his dad made an awful, racist joke. My friend’s youngest brother quipped, sarcastically, “God, I can’t wait until I’m 83 and can say whatever the hell I want.” ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/26 "2015-07-16T12:05:42Z")
Maybe Alex caught the guy bangin Jean in the green room. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/27 "2015-07-16T12:09:25Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Would the remarks have been acceptable if said to a woman? Of course not. So why are they acceptable when said to a man? Sure they would have been acceptable. If your job is staying home to look after the kids why is a quip about that different than a joke about any other occupation? Seriously, if he had mentioned that a stay at home mom made a lot of fish stick lunches, you would have taken that as a sexist insult? ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/28 "2015-07-16T12:50:14Z")
he’s calling him lazy you just pop fish sticks in the oven they don’t require real cooking the implication is that stay at home parents don’t do anything but sit around all day it’s offensive to stay at home moms and dads ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/29 "2015-07-16T12:58:37Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Maybe Alex caught the guy bangin Jean in the green room. You know, even if Alex _didn’t_ catch them, just the fact that it happened must have been troublesome. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/30 "2015-07-16T12:59:24Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Of course it is. You expect a man born in the 1940s to have the sensibilities of one born in 1986? > > We are all products of our time and childhoods. I expect a professional TV personality to get his act together and know what his audience was, or retire. It was definitely sexist. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/31 "2015-07-16T13:30:39Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > he’s calling him lazy > > you just pop fish sticks in the oven they don’t require real cooking > > the implication is that stay at home parents don’t do anything but sit around all day > > it’s offensive to stay at home moms and dads That’s your inference, not his implication and besides, it’s not even what he said. IIRC, there was some comment about fish sticks and Alex said “I bet you’ve made a lot of those” because, ya know, kids like fish sticks. If you inferred from that comment that Alex meant that the contestant just did nothing but sit around and eat the thing that required almost not real effort (fish sticks), maybe you misheard it. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/32 "2015-07-16T13:32:26Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I expect a professional TV personality to get his act together and know what his audience was, or retire. As long as people keep watching (and he likes doing it), he’s not going anywhere. Look at our OP here, this isn’t the first time he’s started a thread about a comment Alex made. But he still watches the show every day. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/33 "2015-07-16T13:50:48Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I didn’t watch the episode, but none of those comments sounds rude to me. How did the contestant react? Did he make a face or look uncomfortable? I think I agree with this. If he had made those comments to a stay at home mom, no one would have given it a second thought. I don’t think Alex had any evil intentions there. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/34 "2015-07-16T14:07:33Z")
not only the fish sticks, but he also said that he would have a lot of free time for reading and keeping up with the news which would come in handy for Jeopardy making fun of him for not having a “real” job Alex only works 4 days a month and he that ain’t working ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/35 "2015-07-16T14:09:18Z")
Maybe the guy shouldn’t have worn his ‘mom jeans’, and left his purse at home. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/36 "2015-07-16T15:02:31Z")
Oh, for the love of fuck, seriously? This is a thread? ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/37 "2015-07-16T16:28:25Z")
What’s the difference between Alex Trebek and a mallard with a cold? One’s a sick duck… I can’t remember how it ends, but his mother’s a whore. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/38 "2015-07-16T16:45:21Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > it’s offensive to stay at home moms and dads You’re speaking for all stay-at-home parents? Are you a stay-at-home parent? I’m asking legitimately. I don’t know you personally, so you very well could be for all I know. But I know a few stay-at-home parents, and I would venture to say that they wouldn’t be offended by this. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/39 "2015-07-16T17:16:09Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > I saw it 2-nite. Meh. > > Seems to me that if a contestant wins like 3 or 4 games in a row, he seems to “root” for the challengers. > > Is it just me? I think he roots for a good game. Constant runaways are boring. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274/40 "2015-07-16T17:25:13Z")
“Ooh… How could you not know that tidbit about 5th Century bards from Malta? Idiot.” is how he comes across sometimes. Just sometimes, tho. And if he didn’t have the answers in front of him, how many clues would he get right? 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alex-trebek-was-a-real-jerk-to-this-stay-at-home-dad-on-jeopardy-tonight/725274.md?page=3)