Mayim Bialik Reveals Her Biggest ‘Jeopardy!’ Critic Might Be Her Mother

Jeopardy! host Mayim Bialik is no stranger to criticism and vitriol in the role, especially when it comes to folks online. But according to her recent appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden on Wednesday, her biggest critic seems to come from her own family.

Bialik has previously noted how some fans of the show were critical of her wardrobe and fashion choices on the show. As it turns out, her mother is the biggest critic of the dress choices and she has direct access to complain.

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“She will send me screenshots of every episode in case I forgot what I was wearing in that particular episode,” Bialik detailed on the show. “I’ll get a little report like, ‘I really liked this blazer, not so crazy about this top.’”

She is quick to point out that her mother is not very swift with the screenshots, though, typically catching her in the most unflattering moment. “In the middle of it, and I would just think, like, ‘She’s got a whole half-hour – find a better screenshot,’” she joked.

Bialyk is well aware of her status among Jeopardy! fans, at least the vocal ones. The constant comparisons to fellow host Ken Jennings are the latest chapter in the host search that followed Alex Trebek’s death. While Bialyk really didn’t do anything to deserve the hate, it was inevitable given the search and controversy that followed it.

“I’m female, and as much as men and women can and should do the same things, women are perceived differently,” Bialik said. “I really try to be a neutral presence as much as possible so that it is not an issue…I get to be myself. I make a lot of stupid jokes. Ken and I both want to highlight our contestants, make them feel comfortable, and make them feel good. The way he says things, I’m assuming he probably knows all those things. For me, I get to read them like, ‘Wow, this is amazing.’”

That doesn’t mean everything goes smoothly on the show. “I have two red buttons, but they removed one. I accidentally hit the wrong one, so they took it away. They left my other emergency button in place. So I have a defunct emergency button,” Bialik explained, giving a feel for life behind the podium. She also notes that speaking Jeopardy! language, “jeopardese” can be tricky. “Not saying the same thing every time something is right, having each commercial break sound a little bit different, those are all challenges.”