Drew Basile is one of the most talked about Jeopardy! contestants for his controversial seven-game winning streak on the show.

The former Survivor contestant tried his hand at the trivia game show and racked up an impressive $129,601 during his week run. He also qualified for the upcoming Tournament of Champions.

During his time on the show, some fans thought he showed “poor sportsmanship” when he ended Adriana Harmeyer’s 14-game winning streak. After he lost, he went on the podcast Rob Has a Podcast and talked about his experience on the show and how he felt about the fans’ reaction to him.


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He told Rob Cesternino and Stephen Fishbach, both previous Survivor competitors, that he wasn’t that bothered by the fans. “It was kind of a little bit muted compared to some of the hate you get from Survivor,” he told them. He added that the negative comments he saw were typically “incoherent.”

He added: “The negative people…they’re retired, they’re a little bit older, you know? They’re still grappling with technology, they haven’t figured out about spellcheck, for example…it’s hard to be that outraged when it’s a completely incoherent message.”

Drew said he was a bit of a “showboat” while appearing on Jeopardy! “I was kind of a polarizing figure on Jeopardy!” he admitted.


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He also had some words about his fellow contestants and what set him apart. Drew unabashedly said: “They have so much poise, and they’re all dressed up to encourage those best qualities of politeness and rectitude, and people don’t really showboat… I had no issue with either of those things, I love showboating.”

“I think [because I have] a little bit more personality maybe than your average winning contestant, [it] could have been a little unnerving for [some] viewers,” Drew said.

He added that he believes people love a villain. “Everyone loves to root against. You love to root against the winner,” he said, “You don’t want the winner to be some kind person who you would invite into your home, that’s boring. I’ll gladly take being the heel…I’ll lean into it.”