12 ‘Jeopardy!’ Contestants Branded ‘Annoying’ by Fans

Jeopardy! viewers can be a tough crowd to please, with many having strong opinions about contestants, hosts, and the show itself.

This passionate fanbase can often lead to snap judgments, especially if a contestant is a little quirky or different from what fans have come to expect of a regular Jeopardy! player. And these viewers are certainly not afraid to let their voices be heard on social media.

Many players have been labeled “most annoying contestant ever” over the years, sometimes two or more within the same week! This could be due to their perceived attitude, facial expressions, dress sense, question-answering style, or simply body movements. Any of these things could be enough to get branded “annoying,” even if the contestant is just being themself!

Comedian Hasan Minhaj knows this first hand, as some viewers dubbed him the “most annoying contestant ever” when he appeared on Celebrity Jeopardy! last year. Fans did not like his enthusiastic and boisterous playstyle and took to Twitter to complain.

Minhaj later brought the backlash up when he appeared on The Tonight Show, even referencing a TV Insider article about the situation. “This past week, I was on Celebrity Jeopardy, and now fans of Jeopardy hate my guts,” he explained to Jimmy Fallon. “I have this unique power to piss off dedicated nerds.”

“That one hurt because the show’s been on for over 58 years,” he said regarding the “most annoying contestant ever” tag. “And they’ve had 15,000 contestants on the show… Maybe my dad was wrong; he said I’d never break records on that show.”

We’ve listed 12 former Jeopardy! contestants below who fans have called “annoying” in the past. Minhaj is not included, as the list is focused only on regular Jeopardy!