Jeopardy! producers are reportedly alarmed about veteran journalist Katie Couric’s anti-GOP comments ahead of her guest-hosting duties on the long-running game show.
Days after Jeopardy! producers announced that Couric would assume guest-hosting duties, she appeared on Bill Maher’s show and showed support for former President Donald Trump’s impeachment and denounced Trump’s supporters as those who would need to be “deprogrammed,” the New York Post’s Page Six reported.
“It is so shocking. … Not only are they not conceding, Bill, but their thoughts — that there might have been some collusion among members of Congress, some are refusing to go through magnetometers … to check for weapons. They’re not wearing masks during this siege,” Couric began.
“And the question is how are we going to really almost deprogram these people who have signed up for the cult of Trump,” she added.
Page Six reported that those behind the scenes at the game show are “immediately worried” about her comments, adding that the Jeopardy! audience is “very conservative” and always shied away from politics.
“Jeopardy viewers are quite a traditional bunch, and there’s fears she might be too polarizing after this. At the very least, she already appears to have ruled herself out of becoming the permanent host of the show,” a source told Page Six.
Couric was chosen as one of several celebrity guest hosts to fill in on the program after longtime host Alex Trebek’s November 8 death from pancreatic cancer.
Others on the guest host roster include Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings, actress Mayim Bialik, and NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers.