More than 500 past Jeopardy! contestants call for Dr. Oz's removal

Entertainment Weekly

A letter from "concerned former contestants" to executive producer Mike Richards last month has received attention in wake of Mehmet Oz kicking off his two-week Jeopardy!-hosting guest stint. "Dr. Oz stands in opposition to everything that Jeopardy! stands for," states the letter. "Jeopardy! is a show that values facts and knowledge. Throughout his nearly two decades on television he has used his authority as a doctor to push harmful ideas onto the American public, in stark contrast with his oath to first do no harm. These ideas include promoting supplements that do nothing, legitimizing gay conversion therapy (which is banned in California, as well as 19 other states), dangerous “cures” for autism, and, most recently, the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19. None of these things is backed by any scientific fact and by promoting them he is actively putting his viewers in danger. In fact, his ideas are so dangerous that thousands of his colleagues have petitioned to have him fired from his position at Columbia Medical School. And what kind of message does this send to the LGBTQ+ and autistic contestants and viewers of Jeopardy!?"