‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Call Out Show Over Inconsistent Rules

Martin Holmes July 20, 2022, 9:39 am

Viewers are voicing their displeasure with Jeopardy! after a recent ruling during the show’s Final Jeopardy! round seemed inconsistent with previous decisions.

The latest incident occurred during the Monday, July 18, episode when contestant Erica Weiner-Amachi wrote an answer that some fans found to be illegible. The fourth-grade teacher from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, scribbled her answer, “Waiting for Godot,” and host Ken Jennings accepted it as a correct answer.

This led to some backlash online as viewers recalled a similar situation on the June 22 episode when contestant Sadie Goldberger had her answer disqualified after producers deemed her writing to be illegible. One fan on Twitter shared a side-by-side shot of the two responses, writing, “#Jeopardy this didn’t count, but then this one did??”

Others felt the same, with one fan also sharing the two images, writing, “Apparently according to #Jeopardy producers, one of theses [sic] says ‘Waiting for Godot’ while the other does NOT say ‘Harriet Tubman.’ #MakeItMakeSense.”

#jeopardy this didn’t count, but then this one did?? pic.twitter.com/xsr2RUBLv3

— Herschel Cuyler (@herschelcuyler_) July 18, 2022

SPOILER ALERT FOR LATE VIEWING CROWD

Apparently according to #Jeopardy producers, one of theses says “Waiting for Godot” while the other does NOT say “Harriet Tubman.”#MakeItMakeSense pic.twitter.com/AgczrXpWvC

— SkeeterBombay (@SkeeterBombay) July 18, 2022

#Jeopardy-approved spelling of Godot. https://t.co/ip3FJCaVAS

— Charles (@chgosalesmngr) July 19, 2022

Had Erica had wagered one more dollar she would have won even though I can’t see how they accepted her spelling of Godot . #Jeopardy

— Darlene Parnell 🇨🇦 🦓 (@darlene865) July 19, 2022

According to the official Jeopardy! website, written responses to the Final Jeopardy! clue do not have to be spelled correctly, “But they must be phonetically correct and not add or subtract any extraneous sounds or syllables.”

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Given the recent controversy regarding the handwriting in the Final Jeopardy! round, one viewer wondered why the show hadn’t moved with the times and given the contestants a keyboard to type their answers. “I don’t quite get why contestants don’t have keypads for Final Jeopardy,” the fan wrote. “It’s 2022.”