“Danger!” Champion Ken Jennings spoke in defense of his podcast co-host John Roderick after he got a negative reaction for telling a story about his daughter that readers compared to child abuse.
Jennings, who was chosen to be the first guest host of the popular game show after the death of former host Alex Trebek, hosts a podcast called “Omnibus” alongside Roderick. Together, the duo uncovers strange true stories in an effort to create a kind of time capsule for future generations.
Over the weekend, Roderick shared a long story on Twitter about being the father of his 9-year-old daughter when she mentioned that she was hungry. Instead of getting food, he instructed her to prepare some baked beans. This task required the use of a can opener, which she did not know how to use. Roderick says she took the opportunity as a “teaching moment” and, after six hours of fighting, she managed to find out.
Readers, however, were quick to call the podcast host for not feeding his hungry son for six hours.
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“If that reassures anyone, I personally know that John is (a) a loving and caring father who (b) tells intense stories to the effect on his own irascibility at about ten podcasts a week. This site is so stupid,” Jennings wrote Sunday for your Twitter followers.
However, the controversy prompted users to search Roderick’s profile and submit tweets that are considered to be anti-Semitic, homophobic or racist. Eventually, Jennings answered questions about the discovered tweets.
“There is no axis on which any anti-Semitic screenshot represents any real opinion I have ever heard of him,” he said in response to a person.
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“Yes, you’re playing a stupid game for idiots. You can also find long, thoughtful topics on John’s Twitter serious about anti-Semitism on the left and right,” he said in another tweet for a reviewer. “Is this less fun than finding an answer in 2013, where he’s talking to a friend in the voice of ‘conspiracy theory guy’?”
Roderick deleted his account in response to the reaction.
Before that, he commented on the reception his daughter’s story received online, calling it “surprising”.
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“Somehow, my story about teaching my daughter to figure out how to use a can opener and overcome her frustration has been transferred to a version of Twitter where I’m being accused of child abuse. It’s surprising. My son is fine, everyone” , he wrote.
Ken Jennings spoke in defense of his podcast co-host.
(VALERIE MACON / AFP via Getty Images)
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In a follow-up tweet, he added: “The best part of being evaluated by these concerned parent trolls is that they continue to insist on how to deprive my child of baked beans for SIX HOURS is child abuse. Six hours is the length of time between meals. Lunch at noon, dinner at six. They are literally saying CHILD ABUSE. “