SOLIDARITY FOR 200

‘Jeopardy!’ Winners Won’t Cross Writers’ Picket Line for Tournament

At least five winners said they would not participate in the show’s Tournament of Champions in the fall.

It’s high time Jeopardy! stop posing its usual questions and instead ask: Which side are you on? That’s according to at least five recent victors, who announced late last week that they would not participate in the gameshow’s beloved Tournament of Champions if the Hollywood writers’ strike continues into the fall. The show of solidarity began on Friday with 13-time winner (and IATSE member) Ray Lalonde, who said on Reddit that he had informed Jeopardy! producers that he would not cross the picket line. Other winners then began to chime in. “Thank you for taking this stand. If you are out, I am out,” wrote nine-time winner Ben Chan. Six-time winner Troy Meyer, eight-time winner Hannah Wilson, and 21-time winner and No. 1 tournament seed Chris Pannullo all followed suit. “I fully agree with his stance and will not participate in any games comprised of recycled clues while the WGA strike is in effect,” Pannullo wrote. It remains unclear whether Jeopardy!, deprived of its writers, will use recycled clues in the fall. “Our words are on the screen every night,” writer Michelle Loud told Variety in May. “There is no Jeopardy! without writers. Without us, it’s just an empty blue screen.”