A ‘problematic’ ‘Jeopardy!’ answer had Ken Jennings apologizing to a female contestant
Things got a wee bit uncomfortable during the Oct. 28 episode of “Jeopardy!”
The episode featured a category called “Complete the Rhyming Phrase.” Contestant Heather Ryan — who was wearing glasses — selected a clue in that category for $400 that read, “Men seldom make passes at …” The answer was “girls who wear glasses.”
Defending champion Will Wallace got the answer right.
“Yeah, a little problematic,” host Ken Jennings said after Wallace gave his answer.
“Very,” Wallace concurred.
“Sorry, Heather,” added Jennings, who’s been the show’s only host since Mayim Bialik revealed last December that she’s no longer on it.
The quote is attributed to poet Dorothy Parker.
Neither Wallace nor Ryan won the game — the third contestant, Ian Taylor, emerged as the new champion.
A representative for “Jeopardy!” did not immediately respond to an NBC News request for comment.
“Jeopardy!” is no stranger to answers that rankle some feathers. Fans may recall nine-day champion Ben Chan losing in a May 2023 episode due to a spelling error in Final Jeopardy.
“Both of the names of these two lovers in a Shakespeare play come from Latin words for ‘blessed’” was the clue in the category of “Shakespeare’s Characters.”
The correct answer is Beatrice and Benedick from “Much Ado About Nothing,” but Chan wrote Beatrice and Benedict, which was ruled incorrect.
“It’s a very memorable miss, right?” Chan told the show afterward. “So if you’re going to go out on a miss, go out on a memorable miss.”
