'Jeopardy' host Ken Jennings defends co-host John Roderick over 'bean dad' controversy

TV host Ken Jennings has been defending his co-host, John Roderick, following a controversy that saw the John labelled as "Bean Dad". Controversies led some social media users to accuse Roderick of "child abuse" and then dig up old tweets that they accused were racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic. The duo co-hosts the Omnibus podcast, which is described as 'an encyclopedic reference work of strange-but-true stories that they compile for future generations as a time capsule.'

Roderick said on Saturday in a now-deleted 23-tweet thread that he once made his hungry 9-year-old daughter spend six hours learning to use a can opener while he was watching. The artist and podcaster said he saw it as a "teaching moment," but his hands-off approach was slammed as cruel by Twitter critics, causing #BeanDad to trend throughout the day. And since then, he went on to delete his account.

Defending his co-host, podcast Omnibus host Jennings went on to address the situation on Sunday. He tweeted, "Extremely jealous and annoyed that my podcast co-host is going to be a dictionary entry and I never will". Jennings went on to reassure in another tweet that she personally knows John to be a caring and attentive dad who tells heightened-for-effect tales on like ten podcasts a week about his own irascibility. Check out his tweets below.

Also read | Sana Khan Shares An Adorable Video With Husband Holidaying In Kashmir

About the bean dad story

Roderick posted on Twitter a long story over the weekend about showing his 9-year-old daughter how to use a can opener. The simple fact was that she was hungry, so he told her to make some baked beans. After discovering that she didn't know how to open the can, he was unbelieving and determined that this was an opportunity for a "Teaching Moment." She figured it out after six hours, which included "tears" and his daughter "collaps[ing] in a frustrated heap".

Also read | 'Doc Hollywood' Cast: Read About The Cast Of The 1991 American Rom-com

On reading the tweets, fans were left furious about the fact that the little girl was left hungry until she did not figure out how to use them can opener. He wrote, “neither of us will eat another bite today until we get into this can of beans”. Many criticized his style of parenting for refusing to feed her or support her, with some charging it was "child abuse". Roderick defended himself initially. His Twitter bio was updated to "Bean Dad since 2021" and he replied with a series of tweets. However, he later went on to delete his page. 

Also read | Prithviraj's 'Anwar' And Other Malayalam Films That Were Inspired By Hollywood Classics

Also read | Ram Charan Shares A Picture Of Him Donning A Chiranjeevi Face Mask; Take A Look