'Jeopardy!' host Ken Jennings apologizes for 'problematic' sexist clue but viewers are unimpressed

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Things got a bit uncomfortable on 'Jeopardy!' during the Monday, October 28 episode. 

During the 'Complete the Rhyming Phrase' category of the evening game show, a particular clue led the host, Ken Jennings, to apologize to a female contestant, as per Fox News. Despite his efforts to mitigate the situation, viewers were quick to point out that the show shouldn't have included the problematic and sexist clue. 

What was the 'sexist' clue shared by Ken Jennings?

The clue shared by Ken Jennings for the "Rhyming Phrase" round read, "Men seldom make passes at…" Returning champion Will Wallace gave the correct answer by completing the phrase with, "Girls who wear glasses."

The line was taken from celebrated 20th-century poet Dorothy Parker's poetry collection, 'Enough Rope', according to Poets.org. Though the phrase stemmed from acclaimed literary work, it could appear problematic for audiences and contestants without the right context.

During the episode, Jennings felt that the prompt may have made the evening's contestant Heather Ryan uncomfortable, as she was wearing glasses on the show.

"Yeah, a little problematic," said Jennings after Wallace gave his answer, with the four-day champion adding, "Very," in defense of his co-contestant. "Sorry, Heather," added the host.  

'Jeopardy!' viewers blast game show for including problematic clue

Netizens and 'Jeopardy!' fans reacting to the incident over the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) were furious with the game show for not vetting the clues properly.

One wrote, "'Yeah, a little problematic' — Ken. Um, then why didn't you bring that up to the writers before the game?" and another said, "More like extremely problematic!" 

"It made me really angry. She went through the whole process of getting on Jeopardy, what should have been an amazing experience will now be remembered for this. Such a completely unnecessary question, there are millions of rhyming phrases, and they knew she would be a contestant," shared an individual. 

A person expressed, "The show is off lately. It's lost its prestige," while someone else said, "It was just stupid. But he did the right thing especially since one of the panelists was a young pretty woman wearing glasses." 

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