Jeopardy! fans slam show over inconsistent rules as Sadie loses: 'Rules are horribly written'
Jeopardy! fans are slamming the show for being inconsistent. The uproar erupted after winner Megan Wachspress' fourth victory was deemed a fluke, with fans accusing her of robbing challenger Sadie. Megan beat Sadie in the final Jeopardy because host Mayim Bialik ruled that she didn't finish writing the correct answer while she was in the middle of doing so.
The victory was controversial, with fans expressing their displeasure on social media, prompting Megan to respond on Twitter. She wrote, “It's probably inappropriate for me to say anything about the judges' call in FJ yesterday (you can see my immediate reaction on the tape) but will say I'd love to see Sadie compete again (if she wants to!) - she is a formidable and gracious player with impressive knowledge.”
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Many on Reddit screengrabbed Megan’s tweet and slammed the show’s ‘inconsistent’ rule. One person wrote, “I commented on another thread, there is SOMETHING after the "V" here, and the producers have a live view of what is being written. It's possible they saw her write the 'e' and 'r' of Denver, but the pen made it overlap. That's the only explanation I can offer that would make this acceptable in my view under the usual rule that you have to have the complete answer there.” “Well then the rules are horribly written…but then again our country is pretty regressive when it comes to being smart,” another added.
It's probably inappropriate for me to say anything about the judges' call in FJ yesterday (you can see my immediate reaction on the tape) but will say I'd love to see Sadie compete again (if she wants to!) - she is a formidable and gracious player with impressive knowledge
— Megan Wachspress (@MegOnJeopardy) June 18, 2022
Someone wrote, “I feared that Megan will be bashed on Monday's episode if she will secure a spot in the TOC. Megan has already been bashed against Sadie's controversial loss and now she will bump Jackie Kelly (technically) and John Focht (officially) out of the TOC tracker if she will win Monday's episode and they gonna bash her because Jackie was a stronger player than Megan.” “I have no doubt they are going to invite her back because of this. They did it a season or two ago too because of a question a contestant should have gotten right and it cost him the win,” another added.
Yet another person remarked, “While Megan has been very gracious and understands the optics, she had nothing to do with the error other than being very fortuitous. The judges dropped the ball. Producers cannot do a do-over but they can try and make amends. The ball is now in the producer's court.” During the final Jeopardy! clue on "Congratulating her on the 1869 release of her biography, Frederick Douglass wrote, 'I have wrought in the day- you in the night," contestant Molly Fleming correctly answered, "Who is Harriet Tubman," adding $3,200 to her winnings for a total of $6,500. Megan answered correctly as well to increase her final game total to $17,199. Sadie, on the other hand, looked to have the same response in mind, although she didn't seem to write it down completely.
"It looks like you were going for 'Harriet Tubman' but you did not finish, so unfortunately that is not going to be acceptable," Mayim, who is presently splitting hosting duties with Ken Jennings, remarked. Sadie nodded, although she appeared to be disappointed with the outcome. She ended up betting $7,500, which would have given her a total of 17,300 if her response had been accepted, making her the new champion over Megan. Meanwhile, Jeopardy! producers are yet to address the issue.