Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings rejects player’s final response after he leaves out one letter in brutal moment
Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings rejects player’s final response after he leaves out one letter in brutal moment
Fans were frustrated over the ruling since he was so close to correct
JEOPARDY! host Ken Jennings has refused to accept a Final Jeopardy answer over a spelling mistake, shocking viewers.
The contestant was just one letter away from the correct response, though it didn’t impact who won.
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Jeopardy! fans were left fuming after Ken Jennings declined a contestant’s final answerCredit: Jeopardy!
Matthew Kahn’s guess was deemed incorrect over spellingCredit: Jeopardy!
During Monday’s episode of Jeopardy!, Adriana Harmeyer, Carol Ritchey, and Matthew Kahan competed.
Adriana’s win streak continued as she held the lead for much of the episode.
In Final Jeopardy, the contestants were asked to give a response to a prompt about colleges.
“Of the seven sisters colleges, this one located in a place of the same name is the farthest south,” it read.
Carol, who was in third place going into the round, incorrectly guessed, “What is Princeton?”
She was left with just $100.
Adriana, who held the lead, entered another incorrect guess, writing, “What is Smith?”
She lost $2,400 but still managed to maintain her lead.
Matthew, who was in second place with $4,000, guessed, “What is Bryn Maw?”
While he wasn’t entirely wrong, he forgot the “R” at the end of his answer.
As a result, his answer was rejected, and he lost $2,000.
HARSH DECISION
On social media, viewers expressed their dissatisfaction with the result.
“Gotta disagree with @jeopardy tonight,” one person wrote on X.
“You disqualified a contestant because he didn’t spell Bryn Mawr correctly. You’ve allowed plenty of misspellings in the past if the answer was correct. How about consistency?”
Jeopardy! Host Timeline
Jeopardy! has had a tumultuous history regarding hosts after the death of the iconic Alex Trebek in 2020. Here are all of the hosts since the game show’s inception in 1964.
Art Fleming – 1964 to 1975, he was the original host of the daytime version of Jeopardy! on NBC.
Alex Trebek – 1984 to 2020, the late, great Alex hosted Jeopardy!’s modern iteration for 36 years until his death from pancreatic cancer.
Guest hosts – 2020 to 2021, Jeopardy! tested out a series of guest hosts for week or two-week stints, including Anderson Cooper, LaVar Burton, and Aaron Rodgers.
Mike Richards – 2021, he was named host for one week before resigning amid controversy. He was the show’s executive producer at the time.
Mayim Bialik – 2021 to 2023, when Mike was announced as the show’s new host, Mayim was chosen to host tournaments and primetime specials.
Mayim and Ken Jennings – 2022 to 2023, 74-time champion Ken (the longest-winning contestant ever) joined Mayim as a guest host and they split hosting duties.
Ken Jennings – 2023 to present. Last December, Mayim announced on Instagram that she would “no longer” host Jeopardy! after a lengthy hiatus, having stood with the writer’s strike, and Ken was named sole host.
Ken now helms all editions of Jeopardy! including Celebrity Jeopardy!, the nightly show, and other primetime specials like Masters.
Another Jeopardy! fan appeared to agree.
“I was born in Bryn Mawr and most of the locals don’t even know how to spell it. That was a low blow, taking the game away from the one guy,” a second person posted.
“Matthew was robbed. I thought spelling didn’t matter in Final Jeopardy,” someone else complained.
That said, since Adriana finished with $20,200, the ruling did not impact the results.
MAJOR UPSET
It’s not the first time Jeopardy! fans have been upset over an answer.
During the May 30 show, fans were left furious when the show incorrectly credited a song to a band that didn’t write it.
Contestant Adriana Harmeyer selected the category “Songs in the Key of Life.”
“In the title of a Rascal Flatts’ song, ‘Life is’ this type of road,” Ken read.
“What is ‘A Highway?’” Adriana replied.
“Yes, it is,” Ken said back.
She won $400, which brought her total to $10,200.
Artist Tom Cochrane originally wrote Life Is a Highway, adding it to his album Mad Mad World in 1991.
In 2006, Rascal Flatts covered the song for the Cars soundtrack.
Fans jumped on X to react to Jeopardy’s major mistake.
“Very offensive to Tom Cochrane to call Life Is a Highway a Rascal Flatts song,” one fan blasted.
“Why has Jeopardy decided Life Is a Highway is a Rascal Flatts song when they just produced an inferior cover?” someone else mocked.
“Rascal Flatts did not write Life Is a Highway! You will pay for this disrespect!” a third critic ranted.
“Rascall Flatts was the wrong answer to a question on Jeopardy!” a fourth viewer wrote on X.
“Ahem! Tom Cochrane is the original Life Is a Highway performer,” another pointed out.
SHAKE IT OFF
A short time later, all three players failed to come up with the correct answer in the Producer Tags category.
“Sony Digital’s tag can be heard on this song by ILoveMakonnen and Drake, named for a weekday that’s got the ‘club goin’ up,’” Ken said.
“What is Thursday?” Amy Yao incorrectly guessed.
“No. I’m sorry,” Ken hit back.
“What is Friday?” Josh Moss questioned.
“Also incorrect,” Ken said.
“Adriana? Five days left.”
Time ran out before anyone could come up with the right answer, which was Tuesday.
“None of these people have ever been to the club on a Tuesday, respectfully,” one viewer joked.
“The way I screamed that answer in a second! Lots of laughs,” someone else added.
None of the three competitors guessed correctlyCredit: Jeopardy!
Adriana Harmeyer walked away victorious yet again regardlessCredit: Jeopardy!
Fans have been calling the show out over its mistakes as of lateCredit: Jeopardy!
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