‘Jeopardy!’ Ken Jennings Lets Contestant Break Vital Rule, Fans Rage

Jeopardy! host, Ken Jennings has fans raging when he let a contestant break a vital rule. This is something that rubs viewers the wrong way when it happens. So, what exactly happened? Read on for more details on the entire situation.

Jeopardy! Ken Jennings Lets Contestant Break Vital Rule, Fans Rage

Ken Jennings has given Jeopardy! contestants grace at times and this does not sit well with viewers at home. There have been instances when contestants have been in Final Jeopardy! but their handwriting has been illegible. It then becomes a question of if they wrote the right answer or not based on who can read it. Yet, one cardinal rule of the game is how one answers. It must always be in the form of a question such as “Who is” or “What is.” If this does not happen then the answer should not be accepted and with good reason.
Ken Jennings-YouTube
Now, according to The Sun, a recent contestant, Ben Chan was on the show. This is the clue that he was given: “Covering around 300 square miles in Wiltshire County, England, this plain is known for its monuments including Stonehenge.” To that, he answered this: “Salisbury.” Of course, that was not in the form of a question so he should have been wrong. Apparently, he said, “What’s Salisbury?” but no one could hear the first part. The fact that Ben was considered right for this had viewers in an uprising.

On #Jeopardy tonight, Ben did not include “What is…” in his answer on a $1600 clue. @KenJennings, nor the judges caught it. Ben ended up winning in Final Jeopardy. I wonder if they’ll correct it on tomorrow’s show. pic.twitter.com/8GLTAtmzCQ

— Mark Sandy (@markdsandy) March 13, 2024

The judges are saying now that Ben said ‘what is’ – softly – before saying ‘Salisbury.’ You can listen to this all night but I’ve yet to hear the ‘what is.’

— RichBoston (@RichBoston) March 17, 2024

Wow, that’s huge in Jeopardy. Wonder why so many missed it? Ben, Ken, the judges and most of us including me. I hope this is corrected in the next game. Good catch!

— RichBoston (@RichBoston) March 14, 2024

If you don’t know it by now, the show is rigged. Rigged for ratings ……

— mabbott (@firefighter3332) March 15, 2024

Some Disagree

However, some viewers believed that Ben Chan said it correctly but only people at home misheard him. They claimed that producers and Ken Jennings can hear much better in the studio. At the same time, those who doubted Ben was correct hope that this will be a learning experience for Jeopardy! In the future, the hope is that they will pay much more attention so this never happens again. Of course, some believe the show is rigged for entertainment. Yet, there are laws against rigging so that is highly unlikely.

Did you watch the show that night this happened? More so, do you believe that Ben Chan answered in the form of a question and it was not heard by viewers at home? Let us know and watch Jeopardy! weeknights on ABC.