‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Blame Ken Jennings for Reigning Champion’s Shock Defeat

Martin Holmes May 16, 2024, 8:47 am

Ken Jennings and Will Stewart — Jeopardy, Inc!

Political organizer Will Stewart entered Wednesday’s (May 15) Jeopardy! with a three-day total of $70,501 and plenty of confidence to continue his winning streak.

However, Stewart ended up losing the episode in a closely fought battle with grocery clerk Grant DeYoung, and some fans think host Ken Jennings is to blame for the loss.

Stewart picked up right where he left off in the opening round, answering 12 correct clues, including the first Daily Double, to give him the lead with $7,600. Meanwhile, DeYoung trailed with $3,400, and fellow contestant Kathy Olson stood at $1,800.

The game heated up in Double Jeopardy! after DeYoung found both Daily Doubles, though he chose to split them rather than go all in. This made things super tight between Stewart and DeYoung as they raced to answer the final clues.

But this is where the controversy happened. DeYoung selected the second-to-last clue, which came under the “In The Period Film” category. The clue read: “It’s the role Nicole Kidman played in Being The Ricardos.”

DeYoung answered with “What’s Lucy?” but Jennings hesitated, asking the contestant to “Be more specific.” DeYoung then completed the answer with “Arnaz,” and Jennings awarded him the $400.

“Yes, we’ll take that,” Jennings said, confirming “Lucille Ball” was the answer they were looking for. Kidman played Ball in Being The Ricardos, which also included scenes of her as Lucy, Ball’s character in I Love Lucy.

This hesitation meant the timer ran out, leaving the last clue unanswered. “You’re in the lead,” Jennings told DeYoung. “And we do not have time for the final clue, so you will have a $400 lead going into the Final.”

DeYoung entered Final Jeopardy with $13,200 over Stewart’s $12,800, while Olson trailed behind with $6,600.

The final clue under the “19th Century Literary Characters” category read, “John Elwes, a millionaire member of parliament who would go to bed before dusk to save on candles, inspired this character.”

All contestants answered correctly with “Scrooge,” but it was DeYoung who sealed the victory by wagering almost his entire amount to give him a winning total of $25,601. Stewart finished second with $13,201 over Olson’s $13,201, bringing an end to his short-lived winning streak.

However, some viewers felt that Jennings’ “be more specific” was unnecessary and cost time that Stewart could have used to answer the final clue and tie up the scores heading into Final Jeopardy.

“I wonder if there’s any chance that last $400 clue in DJ gets revealed if “Lucy” gets immediately accepted; obviously, we’re dealing in hypotheticals about whether or not Will could have tied it at that point, but it’s one of those things where that timer just nags at the game a little bit,” wrote one fan on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum.

“Another unnecessary BMS by Ken,” said another. “The character Nicole Kidman played was Lucy Ricardo, so “Lucy” should’ve been immediately accepted. That would’ve given Will a chance to tie Grant on the 60th clue, and we’d have gotten a one-question tiebreaker.”

“I could see a BMS for “Livvy” (Dunne) since she’s not exactly a household name. The ones for Ali (Laila) and Lucy (Ricardo), however, were unnecessary,” wrote another.

New champion Grant DeYoung; Jeopardy, Inc!

Others thought that DeYoung’s answer shouldn’t have been accepted after he added “Arnaz,” which made the response incorrect. Kidman played Lucille Ball, who played Lucy Ricardo, meaning Lucille or Lucy should have been acceptable answers. However, Lucie Arnaz is the daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz — Kidman did not play Lucie Arnaz.

“Complicating it more is that Lucie Arnaz is an actual, known, and some might say famous person, who happens to be Lucy and Desi’s daughter. Nicole Kidman did NOT play Lucie Arnaz, so on that, the answer was wrong,” explained one Reddit user.

“The contestant also said Lucy arnaz. And to my knowledge, Lucy never carried the name “Arnaz”. Hmm,” added another.

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“I think I’m of the opinion that not only should it not have been accepted immediately, but Grant should have been ruled incorrect for responding Lucy Arnaz,” said one commenter.

“Rewatching it, it’s not clear what the ruling was,” wrote another. “He added “Arnaz” before Ken began asking for BMS, and then Ken ruled him correct. So he could have been accepting “Lucy Arnaz” (which I agree shouldn’t be correct) or just “Lucy” (but then should he have accounted for the incorrect Arnaz addition? If so, then we have to ask if Lucy alone was acceptable and Grant got baited into giving more than he needed to).”

What do you think about this drama? Should DeYoung’s answer have been accepted? Or did Jennings make a mistake? Let us know in the comments below.

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