'Jeopardy!' Champs Refuse to Play in Tournament of Champions Amid Strike

Members of the Jeopardy! community are taking a stand in the ongoing writer's strike that has been plaguing Hollywood for months now.

As the Writers Guild of America (WGA) continues to lobby for their list of demands after going on strike back in May, some recent Jeopardy! champions are voicing their support for the labor union by standing in solidarity with the writers behind the famous game show.

13-day champ Ray Lalonde spoke out about the situation in a recent Reddit post, where he announced that he will not participate in this year's Tournament of Champions if the writer's strike continues into the fall.

"I am a lifelong devoted fan of Jeopardy!" he wrote in his post. "I am and will always be grateful for the experience I had on the show and the opportunity to participate in the TOC is beyond a dream come true for me."

"That being said, I believe that the show's writers are a vital part of the show and they are justified in taking their job action to secure a fair contract for themselves and their fellow WGA members," Lalonde continued. "As a supporter of the trade union movement, a union member's son and a proud union member myself I have informed the show's producers that if the strike remains unresolved I will not cross a picket line to play in the tournament of champions."

Lalonde—who climbed to victory on the show for 13 games between December 2022 and January of this year—is also a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) union, which represents many TV and film crew workers.

"My hope in saying this publicly now is to perhaps influence some future decision to proceed without the writers and to encourage any others in the community who feel the same way to speak out as well," he added in his statement. "A few small voices may not change any minds but we can try."

But Lalonde isn't the only Tournament of Champions prospect who won't be picking up their signaling device if the strike doesn't come to an end soon, as more fellow champs also spoke out with supporting messages in response to Lalonde's post.

21-day champion Cris Pannullo wrote, "As I have already told Ray personally, though like all of us I am a huge Jeopardy fan and it was a dream to appear on the show, I fully agree with his stance and will not participate in any games comprised of recycled clues while the WGA strike is in effect."

"Ray, thank you for taking this stand. If you are out, I am out," added champion Ben Chan, who won nine games this season.

"I’ll stand with you, Ray!" 8-day winner Hannah Wilson chimed in. "A TOC with all recycled clues doesn’t sound like much fun to play in, anyway."

"I stand with Ray!" another champ and six-day winner by the name of Troy Meyer echoed.

Even host Mayim Bialik stepped away from the rest of this season of the game show in solidarity with the ongoing strike back in May, allowing Ken Jennings, who she splits hosting duties with, to finish out the run.

And Jeopardy! definitely isn't the only show being affected by the strike. Find out every show and movie affected by the WGA Strike in 2023.