Jeopardy! Fans Slam 'Unfair' Player Pronunciation, Say Judges Are 'Inconsistent'

JEOPARDY! fans have called out the game show for what they consider an unfair decision regarding a slight mispronunciation of a word.

Fans accused the game show judges of becoming inconsistent in their speech-based decisions.

Meredith Miller was found to be incorrect in her pronunciation of “Way-gu” for “Wagyu”Credit: Jeopardy!

Ken Jennings said, “That was so close, Meredith. You didn’t have a ‘Y,’ which pissed off the fans.Credit: Jeopardy!

On Thursday, Meredith Miller, Micah Rahn-Tiemeyer and Jay Fisher faced off.

On Double Jeopardy!, Jay chose the “Some Hats, Some Livestock” category for $1,600.

The question was: “The name of this breed of cattle prized for its marbled beef literally means ‘Japanese cow’.”

Meredith rang the bell and answered, “What is Way-gu?”

There was a hesitation before host Ken Jennings said, “Mmm, no.”

Jay and Micah didn’t ring.

“So close, Meredith. You didn’t have a ‘Y.’ Shake your head.”You“, Ken, 50, told him.

This put Meredith in third place with $400.

FANS SPEAK OUT

A Jeopardy! fan posted his thoughts on Reddit, while other fans called out the judges.

“The Wagyu issue the other day got me thinking, I know Jeopardy is extremely picky about pronunciation, changing the sound of a word, no matter how subtle, makes the difference between a correct and incorrect answer,” the original author wrote.

Jeopardy! Champ Jay Fisher Admits He Was ‘Working on Little Sleep’ After Mistake ‘Cost’ Him Game and Ended His Winning Streak

“Some sounds, however, are similar enough to sound functionally identical when spoken at a normal cadence, such as words ending in M and N.”

“I’m furious about this call,” said another.

“I saw a replay of Trebek where the judges confirmed the first contestant’s performance and the game continued,” added a second.

“This stuck with me because in a more recent episode, all three contestants pronounced his name close enough that it was clear they knew what they meant, and none of them were judged correctly. It’s so tedious and pedantic when it becomes a game of precise pronunciation.”

Jeopardy! Host Timeline

Jeopardy! has had a tumultuous history regarding hosts following the death of the iconic Alex Trebek in 2020. Here’s every host since the game show’s inception in 1964.

Art Fleming – From 1964 to 1975, he was the original host of the daytime version of Jeopardy! on NBC.

Alex Trebek – From 1984 to 2020, the late, great Alex hosted the modern iteration of Jeopardy! for 36 years until his death from pancreatic cancer.

Guest Hosts – From 2020 to 2021, Jeopardy! tested a series of guest hosts for one-week or two-week stints, including Anderson Cooper, LaVar Burton, and Aaron Rodgers.

Mike Richards – 2021, he was appointed host for a week before resigning following controversy. He was the show’s executive producer at the time.

Mayim Bialik – From 2021 to 2023, when Mike was announced as the new host of the show, Mayim was chosen to host tournaments and primetime specials.

Mayim and Ken Jennings – 2022 to 2023, Ken, a 74-time champion (the longest winning competitor of all time), joined Mayim as a guest host and they shared hosting duties.

Ken Jennings – 2023-present. Last December, Mayim announced on Instagram that she would “no longer” host Jeopardy! after a long hiatus, after supporting the writers’ strike, and Ken was named sole host.

Ken now directs all editions of Jeopardy!, including Celebrity Jeopardy!, the nightly show, and other primetime specials like Masters.

X fans also denounced this unfair decision.

“I can’t believe Jeopardy fined someone for pronouncing ‘wagyu’ like someone from Iowa; I would have raised my podium,” one fan wrote.

“@jeopardy wagyu… Are you kidding me… No one knows how to pronounce that word and you know what she meant…” said another.

“Hey, judges! Tell Ken Jennings Meredith was right! It’s Wagyu and it’s not pronounced Wygu!” said another.

“MAKE IT SENSE”

This is not the first time fans have thought a player was robbed.

Earlier this month, Jeopardy! and Ken both received negative feedback following a harsh decision.

On July 3, Ken and the game show judges took issue with the answer from returning champion Kelly Proulx, a communications director from Billerica, Massachusetts.

On the last clue of Double Jeopardy!, which was in the category “Stunts,” Kelly came in first.

“A Yosemite waterfall with a thin ribbon of water floating in the air like a sheer fabric is the name of this wedding outfit,” the $2,000 listing reads.

Kelly replied, “What is Bridalveil Falls?”

“No, I’m sorry,” Ken said.

“Actually, it’s Bridalveil Fall, so we couldn’t take it. It’s more like, ‘What is a Bridalveil?'”

She was judged incorrect because she added an “s” to her answer.

This allowed him to enter the final Jeopardy in last place with $8,000.

That said, just two games earlier, a contestant had been allowed to say “lar-nyx” instead of “larynx.”

The $1,600 Double Jeopardy! question read: “The name of this breed of cattle prized for its marbled beef literally means Japanese cow.”Credit: Jeopardy!

Neither Jay Fisher (left) nor Micah Rahn-Tiemeyer (center) responded after Meredith was “put down,” as one fan put it.Credit: Jeopardy!

Earlier this month, Ken Jennings and the judges allowed a player to answer “lar-nyx” instead of “larynx.”Credit: Jeopardy!