Ken Jennings apologizes for ‘problematic’ ‘Jeopardy!’ clue

Ken Jennings apologized for a “Jeopardy!” participant this week for a “problematic” clue that some have interpreted as sexist. However, others took issue with the host’s handling of the incident.

On Monday’s episode from the trivia show, the “Jeopardy!” host and game show GOAT clumsily delivered a clue in the “Complete the Rhyming Sentence” category.

“Men rarely make passes,” Jennings said, beginning the irreverent Quote from Dorothy Parker.

“What is ‘girls who wear glasses’?” attendee Will Wallace, a game design director, buzzed in.

“Yeah, a little problematic,” Jennings said after Wallace’s response.

The participant agreed with Jennings’ assessment of the famous poet’s 20th century observation, responding, “very much.” Wallace’s colleague, health program director Heather Ryan, who chose the $400 clue, happened to be wearing glasses — a coincidence that prompted Jennings to say, “Sorry, Heather.”

Jennings and the competitors continued the play, with Wallace, who had been on a four-match winning streak, coming in third. Ryan finished the episode in second place, trailing food vendor Ian Taylor.

This is not the first time that the adage has been stated a witticism about Parkers own romantic weaknesses – has been used in the show. Parker’s quote has appeared at least a dozen times in some form since 1985, according to the fan-operated J! archivealthough it had not been used for more than a decade before its appearance on Monday.

The timing of the clue was not ideal. The episode, which was likely recorded weeks in advance, aired days after two former Sony Pictures Entertainment employees filed gender and race discrimination lawsuits against “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune.” In response to the lawsuit, the game show’s parent company said the shows’ new leadership team was “dedicated to fostering a culture of inclusivity and respect” and that Sony “takes all allegations of discrimination very seriously.”

Representatives of “Jeopardy!” did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment on Wednesday.

Although the “problematic” incident in the episode seemed short-lived, the discourse surrounding it was alive and well on social media.

“The rhyming sentences category was awful, especially the sexist clue,” said one viewer wrote on Reddit in a discussion thread about the October 28 episode.

“Frankly, I don’t need to hear Ken read an obviously outdated and inappropriate prompt and then call it ‘problematic’.” another redditor replied. “Maybe he can use his position to shut it down before it goes over the air.”

“It was a strange choice. There are plenty of other rhyming phrases to choose from that won’t make your participants, your presenter, and your audience visibly uncomfortable,” says another. said.

“It was a bad lead and the writers should be ashamed of themselves for it. That whole category was bad,” said one Reddit user wrote in response to reports of Jennings’ apology.

Still, reception to the quote’s inclusion was mixed. Others praised its use and Parker’s history as a wry writer.

“That quote, somehow, It is referenced 12 times on Jeopardy!according to J! Archive. That includes last night, the first mention since 2013,” another Reddit user pointed out. “Given that history and Dorothy Parker’s prominence as a literary figure, I have no problem with that quote being used as a clue. What I do object to is Ken’s comment. If he really thought this was problematic, the appropriate venue to raise that objection would have been the morning production meeting with the writers. If he did that and it was rejected, he shouldn’t have renewed it on stage.”

“Viewers in danger who are offended by Dorothy Parker’s famous quote: ‘Men rarely make passes at girls who wear glasses’… It’s good to see that our friend Dot still has the power to destroy complacent people disturbing, all these years later!” one X user said.

“We *want* to pass less and will continue to carry our man-repelling vision helpers, mainly so we can function, but also for the bonus Creeper Deterrents. #jeopardy #foureyes,” another wrote.

“Guys don’t date whiny women who think Jeopardy! clues are ‘problematic’, yet another wrote. “The glasses are the least of your problems.”