'Jeopardy!': YouTube Star's Fans Rally to get Him a Guest Hosting Spot
As Sony Pictures Television embarks on its second search for a Jeopardy! host after cutting ties with ousted Mike Richards, fans of one popular YouTuber are calling for the game show to give him the chance to prove he's fit for the job. Matthew Patrick, better known online as MatPat, has gained tens of thousands of signatures of support from fans lauding him the best fit for the open position and calling on Jeopardy! to give him the chance to prove himself with a guest hosting stint.
Boasting more than 30 million subscribers across his YouTube platforms, Patrick in the Change.org petition noted that for the past decade, he has "brought entertainment and education to viewers as the creator/host of Game Theory," the YouTube webseries he created and narrates. Patrick said that through Game Theory, as well as fellow web series Film Theory, Food Theory, and his gaming talk show GTLive, he has "assembled a worldwide community of over 30 million Theorists all united in their love for overthinking the world around them." The petition noted that his "drive to help people learn through their favorite games, movies, and food has inspired viewers of all ages to more closely examine the world around them and think more critically about the media they consume," and together "with the Theorist community, he's helped raise over 5 million dollars for charity and is committed to making the world a kinder, smarter place."
Declaring that "it's time to let new media help bring in a new age for this iconic show," the petition has garnered nearly 60,000 signatures as of this posting from fans supporting the call for Patrick to guest host Jeopardy! The petition was launched alongside a video Patrick posted to YouTube titled, "Film Theory: I SOLVED The Jeopardy Host Controversy," in which he said, "I would like to nominate myself for this role. I think I'd be great." Patrick added that he believes he is "as much in the running for this thing as all those other awesome educators, or all those other 16 guest hosts who have been cycles through the show at this point."
The Change.org petition rivals a second such petition calling on a different prominent figure be named Jeopardy! host: LeVar Burton. Burton had a week-long guest hosting stint during the show's most recent season, and he has long been favored as Trebek's replacement among viewers. While one petition calling on Jeopardy! producers to name Burton as the permanent Jeopardy! host has surpassed 278,000 signatures, far more than the one for Patrick, Patrick's petition has quickly been climbing in popularity. The petition was created on Tuesday, and after it hit the 35,000 signature mark within just three hours, Patrick noted in a tweet, "we're now one of the fastest growing petitions of 2021!" He added that given the petition's popularity, it "looks like the internet knows the answer." He shared the tweet alongside the [Who Is MatPat]" hashtag, which quickly became a trending topic on Twitter as fans rallied to land Patrick a guest hosting stint.
At this time, Jeopardy! has not hinted at who the next host could be. Although the show previously named Richards as host, Richards ultimately stepped down from the position, and was later released as executive producer, amid a series of controversies. In the wake of his departure, Sony said it would begin the search for a new host and would again bring on a roster of guest hosts. Guest hosts have not yet been announced.