5 high-profile scandals associated with the intellectual TV club “What? Where? When?"

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The television program “What? Where? When? has been in existence for over 45 years. In Soviet times, it was watched by millions of spectators, and the players, who especially managed to establish themselves, became popular favorites. However, there were also dark spots in the history of the club, associated with ugly scandals. The reputation of many well-known and quite successful players of the intellectual game turned out to be hopelessly damaged.

Conflicting Rovshan Askerov

It is not for nothing that he is called one of the most scandalous players in What? Where? When?". In 2016, when Alexander Druz expressed doubts about the fairness of the awarding of a point in favor of the players, since their answer was inaccurate, Rovshan Asgarov "sent" the master directly on the air. Later, Rovshan Askerov received a red card for unrestrained behavior towards Andrei Kozlov. A little earlier, Rovshan attracted attention with a verbal skirmish on social networks with Maxim Potashev. True, all the "feats" of Rovshan Askerov pale in comparison with the same Georgy Zharkov.

Violence charges

In 2004, the center of the scandal was Georgy Zharkov, winner of the 1998 "Crystal Owl" and head of the club of intellectual games in Vladimir. In the fall, he met at the station with a 19-year-old boy who did not have a job or a place to live, and offered him an overnight stay. As a result, Sasha Pogodin fled from the apartment, where Georgy Zharkov locked him in one of the rooms, forcing him to enter into an intimate relationship. To escape, Sasha used tied sheets along which he descended from the fifth floor. As a result, he fell off and fell on the hood of the car, but, fortunately, was not injured. Later, the player stated that he just wanted to help the young man, and as a result, a case was fabricated against him solely for political reasons. But the court found him guilty and sentenced him to 4, 5 years in prison. His criminal record was removed two years later, but rumors about the romantic hobbies of Georgy Zharkov are still circulating.

Bribe

The story of Alexander Druz's attempt to bribe the editor of the TV game "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" is widely known. Allegedly, the player offered a bribe for the correct answers to the quiz questions. Ilya Ber tried to accuse the player of bribery, Alexander Druz in response complained about the provocation from the same Ber. Who is right and who is to blame for this scandal is not known for certain, but after the scandal Ilya Ber was fired from his position as editor, and Alexander Druz was suspended from the games “What? Where? When?"

Beyond politics

Ilya Novikov, 2014 owner of the Diamond Owl, is a lawyer. In 2016, he undertook to defend the accused in a very high-profile political case. Then the presenter Boris Kryuk offered the player a choice: a political career or participation in “What? Where? When?”, Emphasizing that the TV club is a place outside of politics. Since 2016, Ilya Novikov is not a member of the club.

Harassment

In 2020, journalist Yekaterina Arenina announced how she was harassed by the owner of the Crystal Owl, Mikhail Skipsky. According to the girl, when she was only 15 years old, Skipsky, who taught her geography and prepared schoolchildren for the games “What? Where? When?”, Began to actively look after her and show very unambiguous signs of attention. Later, these accusations were joined by other girls who suffered from the harassment of a famous intellectual player.

A little later, accusations were poured into the address of Alexander Druz, whom the schoolgirls who studied at the club accused of allowing himself to hug them by the waist, and then move on to more obscene touches. Alexander Druz did not even begin to comment on the accusations, but his colleague at the club, Sergei Vivatenko, did not hide the fact that he strongly doubts the veracity of the statements of yesterday's schoolgirls. After all, they are, in fact, no one to play “What? Where? When? I didn't force them, they came to classes of their own free will every time. And they were obliged to complain at least to their parents immediately after the incident, and not wait for an opportunity, which presented itself 10 years later.

The phenomenon of the creator and host of the TV game “What? Where? When? defies any explanation. At 43, he was fired from television and banned from appearing on screens, and he came up with a game where the presenter does not appear in the frame. Legends were written about his complex character. Surprisingly, this did not interfere with his personal life at all. Vladimir Voroshilov was officially married four times, but he preferred to hide his last actual wife even from friends.