‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Slam ‘Sexist’ Clue as Ken Jennings Apologizes to Female Player On-Air

Darian Lusk October 28, 2024, 7:30 pm

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Monday, October 28 episode of Jeopardy!]

Jeopardy! viewers were in for more drama than just a nail-biter game on Monday, October 28. A rhyming clue offended the contestants and fans alike, with Ken Jennings going into apology mode on stage.

The contestants were returning champ Will Wallace, a game design director from Austin, Texas, who entered with a four-day total of $79,998, Heather Ryan, a health program director from Binghamton, New York, and Ian Taylor, a food sales rep originally from Cleveland, Ohio.

In the Jeopardy! round, Wallace selected the $400 “Complete The Rhyming Phrase” clue. It read: “Men seldom make passes at…” Wallace correctly completed the phrase, responding with a concerned expression: “Girls who wear glasses?” The phrase is a saying coined by poet Dorothy Parker in the 1920s-1930s.

Jennings ruled Wallace was correct by admitting it didn’t hold up, and apologized to the female player, Heather Ryan: “A little problematic, sorry Heather,” he said. The champ came to his fellow player’s defense and sternly told Jennings: “Very.”

The broadcast cut to show all three players, and Heather scoffed, looking uncomfortable and turning outward, chuckling along with the audience. It seemingly wasn’t lost on anyone on-stage that she was wearing glasses.

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Fans took to social media with many also not finding humor in the clue, even if it’s a well-known phrase, and wondering why it made it to air. Others questioned why the show would air a clue that Jennings would then apologize for.

“Rhyming phrases category was awful, especially the sexist clue,” one fan wrote in the Reddit thread for the episode.

“Agreed on all counts. Seemed like someone used a 1950s reference book to research the category,” wrote another.

“Frankly, I don’t need to hear Ken read an obviously outdated and inappropriate clue and then call it ‘problematic,'” argued a third. “Maybe he can use his position to get it switched out before it goes out over the air.”

“”Yeah, a little problematic” — Ken Um, then why didn’t you bring that up to the writers before the game?” wrote a fourth on X.

“More like extremely problematic! #girlswithglasses #Jeopardy,” posted a fifth.

The clue also comes after two longtime former employees filed gender and race discrimination complaints against Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune last week.

In terms of the game, Heather Ryan shook off the blip and she was cheerful for the remainder of the game, which she nearly won. By the end of the round, Wallace was in third place with $2,400, Taylor $8,800, and Ryan $3,800.

In Double Jeopardy!, Wallace found the second Daily Double, wagering $2000 and was incorrect by just a letter in a tough break. The $4,000 swing took Wallace out of contention going into Final Jeopardy. He held $8,000, while Taylor, who led at every commercial break (and found the last DD for $1000), had a near-runaway with $17,400. But Ryan didn’t let him off that easy and got herself back into the running with some late gets to have $9,800.

Final Jeopardy under: “Stage Musical Settings” was: “Turned into a Nazi headquarters in 1933, the nightspot Eldorado is said to have inspired this fictional place.” The correct response was “The Kit Kat Club” referring to Cabaret.

With Wallace (who was incorrect) already set to lose his winning streak, Ryan was correct, so she put the pressure on Taylor. A correct response from Taylor made him the new champion with a one-day total of $19,601, or by just $1 over her.

As new champ Taylor wrote on Reddit: “It was a bit overwhelming to win against Will. I was the alternate the previous day, so had watched him win all his games while hanging out with him in between. Great competitor and a great person. I’m sure we’ll see him in the ToC! Totally agree on Heather for 2nd chance as well!”

Wallace wrote: “Couldn’t have chosen two nicer folks to get beat by! Both faster than me on the buzzer, which was my weak point honestly. That and my pronunciation of German dog breeds. My two weak points. And my Latin adjective endings.”

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What did you think? Was that “Girls Who Wears Glasses” clue inappropriate? And does Ian Taylor have the makings of a mutli-day champ? Let us know in the comments section.