MEAWW.COM / ENTERTAINMENT / TV

Jeopardy! fans accuse Ken Jennings of 'sexism' after he lets champion Luigi correct answer but dismisses Harriet Wagner

Host Ken Jennings asked Luigi de Guzman, who was on a winning streak, to 'say it again' but did not let contestant Harriet Wagner amend her answer

CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA: Viewers of the quiz show Jeopardy! are expressing their displeasure after show host Ken Jennings allowed contestant Luigi de Guzman to correct his answer, but did not give any leeway to another contestant, Harriet Wagner in a similar situation. Luigi, who was already a four-time winner, went on to win the game once again. 

Initially, Luigi misidentified a British painter, calling him 'Constant' instead of 'Constable' but was allowed by Jennings to retract his answer and correct it. Soon after, another contestant, Wagner's answer was automatically labeled 'wrong' by the co-host even though she quickly amended her answer. Fans of the show are furious, calling it an "unfair" and "biased" decision. 

RELATED ARTICLES

'Jeopardy!' wild moments: A look at some of the most controversial NSFW moments of the quiz show

Jeopardy! fans slam show over inconsistent rules as Sadie loses: 'Rules are horribly written'

The controversary surrounding the bias in treatment arose regarding the episode that aired on Wednesday, September 14. When asked to identify a "19th-century landscape by this British painter," Luigi answered, "Constant," when in fact the answer was "Constable." He was, however, allowed to adjust his answer after Jennings prompted him to "say it again." The contestant won $1,000 to bring his total up to $6,200. Sometime later, Wagner, in answer to a question, quickly blurted out "Angela" but immediately corrected it to "Ursula". However, the question was not awarded to her. "Yes, Harriet, you remembered that her name was Ursula but I had already begun ruling against you when you began correcting yourself," he said.

Many were dissatisfied with such a ruling. A thread on Twitter shows one user write, "I’m pissed at @KenJennings because [he] was unfair tonight on @Jeopardy. He allows Luigi to correct his mistake, and cut off Harriet as she was correcting her mistake… again favoring Luigi! Very obvious to me!" To this, someone else replied, "This has happened hundreds of times. The host gives one warning and then after that the answer isn’t accepted. It’s been like that for a while." Another user chimed in with "Ken, you blew it big time! Luigi was wrong! Harriet was correct, in time!" 

One person tried to defend the co-host, saying, "I think he genuinely didn't hear Luigi's first answer, and he ruled on April immediately after she finished the word 'Leguin' b/c she'd already made an error with the first name... Ken is a quick talker and time is always a pressing factor, he often comes in fast after an answer." To which another person agreed, adding, "Yeah re: Luigi's answer, generally the staff will clean that up on a commercial break though. Not sure why they didn't."

At the same time, there were others who pointed out that all the blame cannot be passed on to the hosts. Rather, the judges should have reviewed the decision. "Um, Luigi should not have been allowed to correct himself from Constant to Constable. How did the judges not go back there? Honestly at a certain point, the judges are more to blame than the hosts. #Jeopardy," wrote someone.

 Jeopardy! airs on Pluto TV​​ Stream and is hosted by both Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik.