‘Jeopardy!’ contestant breaks silence over sexist clue that forced host Ken Jennings to apologize

A glasses-wearing “Jeopardy!” contestant collapsed her soundlessness aft a “sexist” clue came up during her episode.

During an section of nan celebrated crippled show connected Oct. 28, players had to complete nan rhyming building “Men seldom make passes at…” for $400.

Returning champion Will Wallace correctly answered “Girls who deterioration glasses” — but nan business became awkward arsenic his female competitor, Heather Ryan, was wearing glasses astatine nan time.

Ryan, who useful arsenic a wellness programme head from Binghamton, NY, thought that nan building made everybody connected nan shape and successful nan assemblage “uncomfortable.”

“It is decidedly an overseas choice,” Ryan told Binghamton University’s student-run newspaper Pipe Dream. “I deliberation it made everybody successful nan assemblage and connected stage, and (host) Ken Jennings too, a small uncomfortable. It was like, ‘Oh, that was unexpected.’”

“Maybe we take amended rhyming phrases successful 2024.”

“Unfortunately, location are still girls who are [in] mediate schoolhouse and they don’t want to deterioration their glasses and they’re losing retired connected their education,’ she added. 

Ryan said she still had a “great time” connected nan show contempt nan controversial infinitesimal that aired connected nationwide television.

“’It’s conscionable a very typical point to play a mini domiciled successful this large part,” Ryan said. “’It’s been moving for 40 years, and truthful I sewage to play my portion successful it.”

After Wallace correctly guessed nan reply by saying “what are girls who deterioration glasses,” Jennings, a erstwhile “Jeopardy!” contestant who holds nan grounds for nan longest consecutive winning streak, apologized for nan reply but didn’t look to enactment successful nan unexpected infinitesimal for long.

“Yeah, a small spot problematic, Sorry Heather,” Jennings calmy replied to nan glasses-wearing contestant.

“Very,” Wallace quipped earlier quickly moving connected to nan adjacent question.

Viewers watched Ryan’s grin slice arsenic she looked astir nan room successful daze while appearing to effort to process what conscionable happened.

“Rhyming phrases class was awful, particularly nan sexist clue,” a spectator wrote connected Reddit.

“‘Yeah, a small problematic’ — Ken Um, past why didn’t you bring that up to nan writers earlier nan game?” 1 instrumentality commented connected X.

Even though Jennings quickly apologized during nan moment, 1 “Jeopardy!” leader is brushing disconnected nan incident.

During an section of nan “Inside Jeopardy!” podcast, nan show’s shaper Sarah Whitcomb Foss claimed location was a misunderstanding astir nan situation.

“I deliberation galore group retired location thought nan ‘Jeopardy!’ writers wrote this, aliases thought this,” Foss said. “But successful fact, Dorothy Parker wrote this, astir 100 years ago, successful a 1926 book. We were conscionable simply filling successful nan category.”

Foss, who has been a shaper connected nan show since 2001, added that it appeared Jennings was “having a small fun” by calling retired nan infinitesimal correct distant during nan show.