‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Criticizes Show for Not Paying Players’ Travel Expenses

Isaac Rouse June 27, 2023, 1:15 pm

Ben Goldstein on 'Jeopardy!' — Jeopardy!, Inc.

Jeopardy! contestant Ben Goldstein has criticized the long-running game show for not covering players’ travel and hotel expenses when they appear on the show. Goldstein, who featured in the show’s current season, took to Twitter, suggesting the show should make changes to be more “accessible.”

“Interesting discussion of the ‘Why doesn’t #Jeopardy pay airfare and accommodations’ question here,” Goldstein tweeted. “Personally, I think covering travel/lodging would make the show more accessible to a wider range of contestants. Not everyone can afford a trip to LA with no guarantee of payback.”

In a previous episode of Inside Jeopardy podcast, producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss confirmed that contestants must pay for their own airfare in order to try to win some money on the game show. “Our contestants are asked to fly themselves out to Los Angeles for their first appearance,” Foss told a fan asking about the process. “If they end up being a returning champion, then we do provide travel for them on their return trips out here.” She added that contestants are given a 30-day window, but sometimes “it’s a shorter window.”

Many fans on Twitter believed accommodations to appear on Jeopardy were given, causing a bit of an uproar online.

“At the *very least*, consolation prizes should be increased, to offset the costs of travel/lodging,” one user tweeted. “It’s kinda disappointing seeing people play well into the 5-figure range and then drop to $1,000 or $2,000 after Final.”

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However, this isn’t the first time a contestant has mentioned having to pay their own way to appear on the show.

Uber driver Ryan Long told the Philidelphia Inquirer he had to save up in order to appear on the show, and also thanked the show for helping him style the only two shirts he had since they did not provide a wardrobe. “I have to give a shout-out to the wardrobe people because they did wonders with what I brought: two shirts and two sweater vests,” said Long. “That’s all I had. That’s all I could afford. I figured I wasn’t going to be there longer than a day.”

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