‘Jeopardy!’ host Ken Jennings ripped for ‘extremely problematic’ sexist clue, apologizes to female player

The questionable ‘Jeopardy!’ phrase was from famous female poet Dorothy Parker

Erin Buker recently earned the second-lowest winnings of any contestant in the history of “Jeopardy!,” something she called an “out-of-body experience.”

“Jeopardy!” fans are heavily criticizing host Ken Jennings for a “sexist” clue.

During Monday night’s episode, the “Jeopardy!” category “Complete the Rhyming Phrase” quickly turned the game into an awkward situation.

When Jennings read the clue, “Men seldom make passes at…”,  returning champion Will Wallace correctly answered, “Girls who wear glasses.”

During an episode of “Jeopardy!”, the category “Complete the Rhyming Phrase” quickly turned the game into an awkward situation. (Getty Images; Jeopardy!/ABC)Jennings recognized the prompt may have made female contestant Heather Ryan uncomfortable since she wore glasses on the show.

“A little problematic, sorry, Heather,” Jennings remarked.

“Jeopardy!” champion Wallace chimed in and added, “Very,” as he defended the female contestant.

The questionable “Jeopardy!” phrase was from famous female poet Dorothy Parker. (Jeopardy!/ABC)The questionable phrase was from acclaimed poet Dorothy Parker.

Game show fans were quick to react to the tense situation on social media.

“‘Yeah, a little problematic’ – Ken… Um, then why didn’t you bring that up to the writers before the game?” one comment read on X.

Another viewer wrote, “More like extremely problematic!”

“Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings apologized to a female contestant after a “problematic” clue was deemed to be “sexist.” (Jeopardy!/ABC)“Frankly, I don’t need to hear Ken read an obviously outdated and inappropriate clue and then call it ‘problematic,’” a fan wrote on Reddit. “Maybe he can use his position to get it switched out before it goes out over the air.”

While another “Jeopardy!” viewer added on X, “Still angry about this. She’s used her intelligence to get on here, only to be insulted by a sexist and rude comment.”

Game show contestants during “Final Jeopardy!” round. (Jeopardy!/ABC)“Jeopardy!” fans recently blamed Jennings for robbing a contestant after a “messy” answer.

Earlier this month, during a “Final Jeopardy!” round, players were faced with the category “College Towns.”

Jennings read the prompt, “Two schools in the Southeastern Conference are located in cities with this same name but in different states.”

“Jeopardy!” player Rishabh’s written answer to “Columbia,” appeared to some to be simply a jumble of letters.  (Getty Images | Jeopardy!/ABC)A contestant named Rishabh, an Illinois native who is currently a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, played against environmental attorney Jay Eversman and associate professor Rachel Cassidy.

Two contestants, Rishabh and Rachel, both answered correctly with “What is Columbia?”.

However, game show fans were quick to call out Jennings’ ruling and argued that the winner’s answer was “totally illegible.”

Rishabh’s written answer to “Columbia,” appeared to some to be simply a jumble of letters. The original answer he jotted down was also scribbled out.

Meanwhile, Rachel’s answer to “Columbia” was easier to read on screen.

Another contest gave a more legible answer. (Jeopardy!/ABC)But since Rishabh wagered $9,801, he took home $20,201 for his two-day win.