Mayim Bialik Breaks Silence on 'Jeopardy!' Exit: 'I Didn't Read the Comments'

Former "Jeopardy!" host Mayim Bialik reveals she didn't bother with fan feedback after departing the beloved game show, citing the importance of maintaining sanity.

Mayim Bialik has opened up about her time hosting "Jeopardy!" and her decision to ignore fan comments following her departure.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Bialik shared that she deliberately avoided reading public feedback during her stint as host. "I didn't read the comments, which I think is good advice in general," she said. "I think, essentially, that's all I can say about it. I didn't read the comments and that's kind of an old practice of mine to try and maintain sanity."

Mayim Bialik Breaks Silence on 'Jeopardy!' Exit: 'I Didn't Read the Comments'

Bialik's decision stems from her respect for the "Jeopardy!" fanbase and her desire to preserve her mental well-being. "I have a lot of respect for the 'Jeopardy!' fans because it's a real legacy. It's a real legacy fandom, so it's super important," she explained.

Following longtime host Alex Trebek's passing in 2020, Bialik was among the guest hosts who took on the role in 2021. After Mike Richards' abrupt exit, she became a permanent host alongside Ken Jennings. However, in December 2023, Bialik announced her departure from the show.

Mayim Bialik Breaks Silence on 'Jeopardy!' Exit: 'I Didn't Read the Comments'

Bialik's exit was met with mixed reactions from fans. Some expressed disappointment, while others welcomed the decision to have a single host. "Over the past two and a half seasons, what we've heard from a lot of television stations and other interested parties is that they wanted more consistency," Executive Producer Michael Davies explained. "They wanted a single host."

Despite the criticism she received online, Bialik expressed gratitude for her time on the show. "I'm definitely still a fan of the show and very honored that I was nominated for an Emmy for my work there," she said. "That is something that I got to change my bio, that I was nominated for Jeopardy. So, yeah, it's something I'm still very proud of."

Mayim Bialik Breaks Silence on 'Jeopardy!' Exit: 'I Didn't Read the Comments'

While Bialik's return to "Jeopardy!" remains a possibility, she is currently focused on other projects. "I was a grad student, and I was out of the industry for 12 years after 'Blossom' before I started working on 'Big Bang Theory,'" she recalled. "And I really loved academia and I also really loved performing, and I think 'Jeopardy!' was the closest that I felt to sort of being at kind of a grad school mixer because the writers and the researchers are so incredibly intelligent, kind of thirsty for knowledge, always trying to learn new things."

Bialik's latest venture is the documentary "Mom & Dad's Nipple Factory," which explores a family's decision to start a company that manufactures silicone nipples. "It literally came to us as this documentary has been made by this guy, Justin Superstar, and they literally said, 'We're looking to get this more noticed and bringing someone on.' I'm also a lactation educator counselor, so they said bringing someone on who can speak to this and especially his parents [who] are very, very sweet, very quiet, and they knew I was a scientist, they knew that I'm a person of faith, and those things were important to his family as they thought about ways to get it more noticed," she explained.

Mayim Bialik Breaks Silence on 'Jeopardy!' Exit: 'I Didn't Read the Comments'

Despite her departure from "Jeopardy!", Bialik remains enthusiastic about the show and its impact. "It's such a fascinating – I mean, it's a fascinating story. It's a rom-com. It's a strange little rom-com that involves a nipple factory in this guy's sister's bedroom," she said of "Mom & Dad's Nipple Factory." "But it's a really, really sweet story and, in particular, it's a love story about what the husband of this family devises. If you give him a problem, he'll solve it. In this case, he wanted to express support for his wife in a way that really didn't exist in the industry."