‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Stunned by Acclaimed Writer’s Reaction After She Featured on Show

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Famed poet and author Joyce Carol Oates revealed she has never seen Jeopardy!, despite recently being featured as a clue on the show.
Her admission surprised and amused fans, many of whom expressed disbelief that an American of her age had never watched the iconic game show.
Oates, who remains an active and prolific writer at 87, responded humorously by noting her name often appears in crossword puzzles due to its vowels.

Jeopardy! fans are shocked by what acclaimed writer Joyce Carol Oates had to say about the game show after she recently featured as the answer to a clue.

A viewer reached out to Oates online after seeing her mentioned on Jeopardy! and got a totally unexpected response.

“Ms. Oates, are you aware that you were the answer to a $2,000 question on Jeopardy! yesterday?” an X user asked her.

“Thank you, but no,” replied Oates, before adding:  “I’m afraid that I have never seen Jeopardy!. My name sometimes shows up in crossword puzzles in need of vowels.”

Oates, 87, has written 58 novels, including Blonde, The Tattooed Girl, and many more, and is still writing to this day. Her novel, Fox, came out in June. She has also written plays, novellas, short stories, poetry, and nonfiction.

The clue, on the November 3, 2025, episode, read, “Her short stories include Where Is Here?, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? & Where I Lived, and What I Lived For.” The answer was her name, and contestant Joyelle McSweeney got it right for $2,000.

Fans were shocked to hear that Oates has never, ever seen the game show which has been running for pretty much her entire adult life. “Joyce Carol Oates has never seen Jeopardy!,” a Reddit user posted, along with a screenshot of her tweet.

thank you but no, I’m afraid that I have never seen Jeopardy.
my name sometimes shows up in crossword puzzles in need of vowels. https://t.co/0VqYDAKVfe

— Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) November 5, 2025

“She uses Twitter but has never seen Jeopardy!? Hmm 🤔,” another wrote.

“I don’t believe her,” said a fan.

“I don’t trust an octogenarian who has never seen Jeopardy!,” a Reddit user said.

“Honestly, it’s wild that there’s an American that’s never seen Jeopardy! How do you live in the US or Canada and not at least catch part of an episode?” a fan wrote.

“I do not know anyone who’s never seen at least one episode of Jeopardy!,” another wrote.

“I don’t trust ANYONE (English speaking, at least), who has never seen Jeopardy!. I legitimately think the world would be better off if everyone watched Jeopardy!,” one last fan said.

Other fans think that Oates is joking because that is her “sense of humor.”

Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock