Days after a sexist clue drew some attention to Jeopardy! the contestant involved in the situation is speaking out.
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While competing on the show during the Oct. 28 episode Heather Ryan was given the sexist clue. The category was “Complete the Rhyming Phrase” and the hint “Men seldom make passes at…” to which returning champion Will Wallce answered, “Girls who wear glasses.”
Jeopardy! host Ken Jenning quickly noticed that the female contestant was wearing glasses and apologized for the inappropriate clue. He also called the clue “a little problematic.”
Wallace, added, “Very.”
“It is definitely an odd choice,” Ryan said while speaking to Binghamton University’s student-run newspaper Pipe Dream. “I think it made everybody in the audience and on stage, and Ken Jennings too, a little uncomfortable. It was like, ‘Oh, that was unexpected.’”
When asked what she suggests for the show, Ryan answered, “Maybe we choose better rhyming phrases in 2024. Unfortunately, there are still girls who are [in] middle school and they don’t want to wear their glasses and they’re losing out on their education. So, I think it’s much better to be able to see than anything else.”
Although she lost by just $1, Ryan said she enjoyed her time on Jeopardy! “I had a great time,” she noted. “Everybody there was very welcoming. It’s such a part of American culture that I definitely wanted to go on when I got the call for it.”
She then added, “It’s just a very special thing to play a small role in this big part. It’s been running for 40 years, and so I got to play my part in it. It’s such a part of American culture that I definitely wanted to go on when I got the call for it.”
‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Slammed the Show For the Problematic Clue
Not long after the incident occurred, Jeopardy! fans took to social media to slam the show for the problematic clue.
‘”’Yeah, a little problematic’ — Ken. Um, then why didn’t you bring that up to the writers before the game?” one fan stated on X.
“Still angry about this,” a fellow fan also declared on X.” She’s used her intelligence to get on here, only to be insulted by a sexist and rude comment.”
Other Jeopardy! fans did explain the meaning behind the clue. “Jeopardy viewers offended by famous Dorothy Parker quote, “Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses’… It’s good to see that our pal Dot still has the power to disturb the complacent, all these many years later!” a fellow fan noted.