A JEOPARDY! contestant has fired back at online trolls claiming host Ken Jennings gave him a pass for giving a wrong answer on the show.

Fans raced to social media immediately after Monday night’s episode of Jeopardy! to share their thoughts about the outcome.

4

Jeopardy! contestant Karan Menon competing on the July 8 episode of the game showCredit: ABC

4

Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings on the showCredit: ABC

4

Jeopardy! contestants Isaac Hirsch, Karan Menon, and Stephanie Lewis on the July 8 episodeCredit: ABC
Players Stephanie Lewis, Karan Menon, and Isaac Hirsch – a three-day champ of the game show – battled it out at the podiums.

In the end, Isaac again pulled out front with a final score of $30,500.

Karan came in second place with $10,001, and Stephanie followed in third with $5,000.

Despite Karan’s significant lead over Stephanie, viewers questioned whether one of his answers was valid, given his major pronunciation error.

BIG BLUNDER

The clue read, “Cape Maclear is on the shores of this lake in Southern Africa that also begins with M.”

Karan immediately buzzed in, responding, “What is Lake Malavi.”

However, fans called him out in an online thread for making a big mistake in his delivery.

“Completely useless aside, given that it didn’t affect the game at all; did Karan get away with saying ‘Lake Malavi’ on that $2,000 CAPES clue?” one person asked, noting that the answer should’ve been Lake Malawi.

“Indian accents tend to pronounce W as V in some words, so I think it’s acceptable?” another wondered.

Ken Jennings gushes over Jeopardy! champ Isaac Hirsch with mid-game ‘confidence booster’ before big 4th win
Karan defended himself in the thread, saying that although he didn’t technically answer the clue correctly, Ken understood what he meant.

“Hi! Karan, here. I was born in America but first learned English in an Indian accent and often code switch. So it’s very common for me to mix my v and w pronunciation. What matters is they got what I was trying to say,” the New Jersey native replied.

Isaac also clapped back at Internet haters after many criticized his wardrobe on the show.

“That current champion looks like a 70s p*rn star,” one Facebook user remarked about the TV star’s interesting style.

Jeopardy! Host Timeline

Jeopardy! has had a tumultuous history regarding hosts after the death of the iconic Alex Trebek in 2020. Here are all of the hosts since the game show’s inception in 1964.

Art Fleming – 1964 to 1975, he was the original host of the daytime version of Jeopardy! on NBC.

Alex Trebek – 1984 to 2020, the late, great Alex hosted Jeopardy!’s modern iteration for 36 years until his death from pancreatic cancer.

Guest hosts – 2020 to 2021, Jeopardy! tested out a series of guest hosts for week or two-week stints, including Anderson Cooper, LaVar Burton, and Aaron Rodgers.

Mike Richards – 2021, he was named host for one week before resigning amid controversy. He was the show’s executive producer at the time.

Mayim Bialik – 2021 to 2023, when Mike was announced as the show’s new host, Mayim was chosen to host tournaments and primetime specials.

Mayim and Ken Jennings – 2022 to 2023, 74-time champion Ken (the longest-winning contestant ever) joined Mayim as a guest host and they split hosting duties.

Ken Jennings – 2023 to present. Last December, Mayim announced on Instagram that she would “no longer” host Jeopardy! after a lengthy hiatus, having stood with the writer’s strike, and Ken was named sole host.

Ken now helms all editions of Jeopardy! including Celebrity Jeopardy!, the nightly show, and other primetime specials like Masters.

“I’m guessing Isaac hit Studio 54 after that show’s taping,” a second mocked.

“This guy makes me look forward to the next game! What will he wear? He’s quirky and funny….and super smart! We should have more people like this in our lives!” a third said.

Isaac later shared a lengthy post on Instagram addressing the cruel comments about his attire.

“Well, this is going better than expected! Going into the weekend, I am now a 3 day champion with winnings a hair over $70k,” Isaac’s caption began.

ISAAC’S FITS

Further down the post, Isaac noted that his outfit choices had social media users “divided.”

“Good news for the haters: I am almost out of vintage shirts approved by wardrobe.

“So if I keep winning, the fits are going to get a lot more subdued.

“I should also mention my last two shirts were gifts from my stylist/girlfriend,” Isaac concluded.

4

Isaac Hirsch – who is a three-day champ on Jeopardy! – competing on the game show during the July 8 episodeCredit: ABC