‘Jeopardy!’s Most Recent Offensive Clue Isn’t the Game Show’s First

Jeopardy! fans can find fault with almost everything that has to do with the long-running game show. Mispronunciations, grammar, and the level of clues are what tend to stick in a fan’s craw, but every once in a while there’s a clue that really gets their blood boiling. Take, for example, this clue from October 2024, under the “Complete the Rhyming Phrase” category: “Men seldom make passes at…” The answer is “What are girls who wear glasses?” The reaction was instantaneous, made worse by the fact that the contestant who scored the clue, Heather Ryan, was wearing glasses. Ken Jennings tried to save the moment by calling the clue “a little problematic,” adding, “Sorry, Heather.” Another contestant quipped “Very.” Fans demonized it as offensive and sexist, calling out Jennings and showrunners for not having the foresight not to include the “problematic” clue. Only it isn’t the first time Jeopardy! has been under fire for an offensive clue.

‘Jeopardy!’ Clues That Have Put the Show in Jeopardy

We’ll hold our take on that specific clue for now, but there is no shortage of clues that are truly offensive throughout Jeopardy!‘s run. A clue given on a November 2022 episode, in a category where all responses contained the letter “A,” seemed innocuous enough: “In 2021, fugitive Brian Laundrie ended his days in Fla’s Myakkahatchee Creek area, home to these long & toothy critters.” The critters in question would be “alligators,” so unless calling them “critters” is offensive, what’s the problem? The problem is that Laundrie had confessed to killing his 22-year-old girlfriend, Gabby Petito, in a notebook before ending his own life, a tragedy captured in Lifetime’s The Gabby Petito Story. Fans were horrified, echoing comments like “THIS, this is beyond offensive. It’s appalling & completely insensitive, not to mention totally unnecessary” and “What in the hell is wrong with you? Have you no soul?”

Another clue from a June 2021 episode in the “Plain-Named Maladies” category, as read by guest host Savannah Guthrie: “Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome is also known as Grinch syndrome because this organ is too small.” The correct answer was, “What is the heart?” The clue was quickly condemned by fans, those diagnosed with POTS, and even the nonprofit organization Dysautonomia International, which raises funds for research and raises awareness of such disorders. The criticism was twofold: the term “Grinch syndrome” is outdated, while the “small heart” isn’t even symptomatic of the condition, and as such is medically inaccurate. Calls for an immediate apology were heeded by the Jeopardy! team.

What’s Deemed as “Offensive” on ‘Jeopardy!’ Rides a Razor-Thin Line

Referencing a killer? Yes, that’s offensive. Equating a medical condition with a character that hates Christmas, while not being medically accurate? Yes, that’s offensive. Having the wrong artist in the clue for a country song? Umm… maybe? Or at least to fans of country band Rascal Flatts and Canadian rock artist Tom Cochrane it is. In a June 2024 episode, the clue in question read: “In the title of a Rascal Flatts’ song, ‘Life is’ this type of road.” Adriana Harmeyer, returning champion, correctly answered, “What is a highway?” But the clue came into the crosshairs of the music community for one reason: Tom Cochrane is the original singer-songwriter of the popular track. It led to a war of words — well, a friendly feud of words — between fans who echoed the sentiment: “Very offensive to Tom Cochrane to call ‘Life is a Highway’ a Rascal Flatts song” and fans who claimed, “That is a great version of that song and the ONLY one people remember.”

‘Jeopardy!’ Stop Playing Grammar Police With Every Answer

Enough of the nitpicking.

Barely offensive, if at all, but that’s Jeopardy! for you, a game show that appeals to a wide variety of fans with a wealth of differing opinions. Speaking of opinions, let’s double back to the clue that started things off here. Jeopardy! producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss addressed the controversy, saying, “I think many people out there thought the ‘Jeopardy!’ writers wrote this, or thought this. But in fact, Dorothy Parker wrote this, about 100 years ago, in a 1926 book. We were just simply filling in the category.” She makes a valid point. By the logic of those incensed by the clue, a quote from William Shakespeare‘s Hamlet, “Get thee to a nunnery,” should also come under fire for being misogynistic, but that’s unlikely to happen, even if the contestant so happened to be a nun. In the same article, Foss says, “I don’t know. Sometimes the clickbait, it’s too much.” It’s only a matter of time until the long-running game show finds itself in hot water once again, though.

Jeopardy! is available to stream in the U.S. on YouTube TV.

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