Jeopardy! fans rip Ken Jennings for ‘sexist’ clue as he’s forced to apologize

A Jeopardy! contestant who was involved in a sexist clue incident on the show shared that the moment was ‘uncomfortable.’

Heather Ryan competed on the October 28 episode of the quiz competition show, where an unexpected clue caught the viewers’ attention.

The health program director from Binghamton, New York, buzzed in for a question from the ‘Complete the Rhyming Phrase’ category. Host Ken Jennings, 50, then asked the phrase: ‘Men seldom make passes at…’

Fellow contestant Will Wallace, a game design director from Austin, Texas, correctly guessed the answer as ‘girls who wear glasses’, making for an awkward TV moment as Heather also happened to be wearing glasses.

She now spoke out about the incident during an interview with Binghamton University’s student-run newspaper Pipe Dream, stating: ‘Maybe we choose better rhyming phrases in 2024.’

Jeopardy! contestant Heather Ryan, who was involved in a sexist clue incident on the show, shared that the moment was ‘uncomfortable’ in a new interview

She competed on the October 28 episode of the quiz competition show, where an unexpected clue caught the viewers’ attention, prompting host Ken Jennings (pictured) to apologize

‘It is definitely an odd choice,’ she told the paper.

‘I think it made everybody in the audience and on stage, and Ken Jennings too, a little uncomfortable. It was like, “Oh, that was unexpected.”‘

‘Unfortunately, there are still girls who are [in] middle school and they don’t want to wear their glasses and they’re losing out on their education,’ she continued.

‘So, I think it’s much better to be able to see than anything else.’

However, Heather shared that the rest of her experience on the show ‘was very fun.’

‘I had a great time. Everybody there was very welcoming. It’s such a part of American culture that I definitely wanted to go on when I got the call for it.’

‘It’s just a very special thing to play a small role in this big part,’ she added. ‘It’s been running for 40 years, and so I got to play my part in it.’

After Will gave his answer, host Ken was quick to call the clue ‘a little problematic’ before apologizing to Heather.

Heather buzzed in for a question from the ‘Complete the Rhyming Phrase’ category. Host Ken, 50, then asked the phrase: ‘Men seldom make passes at…’

Fellow contestant Will Wallace correctly guessed the answer as ‘girls who wear glasses’, making for an awkward TV moment as Heather also happened to be wearing glasses

After Will gave his answer, host Ken was quick to call the clue ‘a little problematic’ before apologizing to Heather

She now spoke out about the incident during an interview with Binghamton University’s  newspaper Pipe Dream, stating: ‘Maybe we choose better rhyming phrases in 2024’

‘It is definitely an odd choice,’ she told the paper. ‘I think it made everybody in the audience and on stage, and Ken Jennings too, a little uncomfortable. It was like, “Oh, that was unexpected”‘

Former reigning champion Will also quipped ‘very’.

Luckily, Heather didn’t seem too rattled by the situation – and Ken quickly moved the game on.

Jeopardy! fans, however, blasted the ‘sexist’ clue on social media and slammed the category too.

Taking to Reddit, one said: ‘Rhyming phrases category was awful, especially the sexist clue.’

Echoing a similar sentiment, another added: ‘Frankly, I don’t need to hear Ken read an obviously outdated and inappropriate clue and then call it ‘problematic’.

A third penned on X: ‘More like extremely problematic!’

‘Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses’ is a quote from the late New York socialite and commentator Dorothy Parker from the 1920s and 1930s.

By the end of the episode, Will had just $2 in the bank, while Heather had accrued $19,600.

But it was Ian Taylor, a food sales representative originally from Cleveland, Ohio, who won the game with an impressive $19,601.

Viewers blasted the clue on social media, branding it ‘extremely problematic’

Earlier this month, it was reported that Ken was at risk of being axed in favor of Pop Culture Jeopardy! host Colin Jost.

The Mirror claimed that producers of the show were prompted to weigh up their options after they saw ratings spike over on Wheel of Fortune after American Idol’s Ryan Seacrest took over the helm.

‘Jeopardy! higher-ups reportedly aren’t completely all-in for Ken,’ the publication said.

‘Rather than have Ken host the spinoff game show series Pop Culture Jeopardy!, they tapped Saturday Night Live star Colin Jost to fill the position.’

Ken has fronted Jeopardy! since season 41 after previous host Mayim Bialik was fired in 2023.