‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Give Verdict on Show Asking Political Questions

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What is…. keep politics out of Jeopardy!? A recent contestant displayed a seemingly scornful expression to a clue about vice president JD Vance. This sparked a debate among fans online as to whether or not politics should be involved in the show and if contestants’ reactions to “political” questions should be edited out or retaped. Also, what show bosses do if a contestant seems especially displeased about a ruling on the show.

“Question about tone and body language when responding to a clue you don’t like or agree with,” a Reddit user wrote. “In yesterday’s (June 10) episode, Jackie [Rogoff] had a noticeably (justified) derisive tone when responding to the JD Vance clue. It was just subtle enough to not be distracting but also obvious to those of us who felt the same way 🤣 My question is, if you visibly rolled your eyes or responded in a clearly derisive tone to a clue you didn’t like, would they make you re-tape it?”

The clue that the fans referred to was on the June 16 episode. In “It’s All About The Books,” the clue was “He dedicated Hillbilly Elegy to his Mamaw & Papaw, his ‘very own hillbilly terminators.’” The correct answer was JD Vance. Rogoff got it correct but answered it with a contempt tone.

“I was wondering the same thing. I caught that as well and would probably answer the same way,” a Reddit user replied.

“Another case of Jeopardy! normalizing clues about this administration and its practices. I don’t expect the show to go all-out and rebuke what they’re doing, but it would be nice if there weren’t so many happy-go-lucky clues about fascists,” said another.

“I heard it in Ken’s voice too,” a third added.

“Ken [Jennings] is very much & very rightfully a hater of…everything going on right now. And I know he’s not involved in the production, but if they allow HIS quips & mannerisms about certain things, I would imagine they are okay with the contestants doing them (within reason) too,” a fan said.

“I actually thought Ken had a deliberately flat affect when he ruled her response correct,” a Jeopardy! fan wrote.

“I mean I’ve clearly heard contempt in Ken’s voice during certain clues,” said another.

There was another political clue on June 11. That fans reacted to as well. In “Medieval Europe,” the clue read, “A term in the news in 2025, this was the title of the high authority in Venice, an elected title with life tenure.” The answer was DOGE and was correctly answered by Matt Massie.

Despite Ken Jennings’ similar response to political questions, fans were shocked that a response from him in 2004 wasn’t cut from the game show. He picked the Daily Double in the “Businessmen” category, and said, “I’m not really crazy about the category,” before wagering $1,000. Then-host Alex Trebek responded, “You don’t like businessmen?”

my king. Wonder how he’s doing pic.twitter.com/uPu5dXuYJ3

— SUMMONFISH (@SUMMONFISH) June 8, 2024

“I hate them all,” Jennings retorted, smiling. “Come the revolution, we’re gonna string ’em up.”

“Whoa, hello!” a shocked Trebek replied.

As to whether contestants’ reactions should be edited out if they seem controversial, some former players and audience members gave some insight as to what happens currently on the show.

“They will potentially have you re-tape your interview portion if your tone gets too derisive. I was in the audience for one of the Second Chance tapings, and–without naming any names–one of the contestants had lost their original game due to a controversial FJ ruling,” said a Reddit user. “During the interview portion, the contestant referenced their original loss in such a way that it was clear they still thought the ruling was wrong and they were kind of salty about it. Not egregiously so, but the meaning was clear. They played the rest of the J! round, and then during the next commercial break, Ken went back to their podium and they retaped the interview, without any reference to their original loss.”

“They let me keep my thumbs-down when answering a clue about the New York Giants, but sports rivalries are a little less heated,” David Mayburry, a 2021 contestant, said.

Another fan said that if someone sings the response, they have to retape it. “Wasn’t there a Love Boat response where they had them re-record not singing, and then they went ahead and aired the sung version?” a Reddit user asked.

“Yeah, it’s established that you’re not allowed to sing your response. If you do, they’ll make you re-record it without the singing,” another responded.

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