‘Jeopardy!’ host apologizes to Upstate NY contestant for sexist clue: Buzz

“Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings apologized to a contestant from Upstate New York for a sexist clue on Monday night’s episode of the long-running game show.
The awkward moment occurred during the category “Complete the Rhyming Phrase” when Jennings read the clue “Men seldom make passes at…” Returning champion Will Wallace correctly answered: “… ‘girls who wear glasses.’”
Jennings admitted Wallace was correct — the early 20th century quote comes from acclaimed writer Dorothy Parker — but took a moment to apologize to another contestant, Heather Ryan, a health program director from Binghamton, N.Y., who was wearing glasses.
“A little problematic, sorry Heather,” Jennings said.
“Very,” Wallace agreed.
Rolling Stone reports social media users still criticized Jennings and “Jeopardy!” for including the “outdated and inappropriate clue” in the first place.
“Maybe he can use his position to get it switched out before it goes out over the air,” one X user wrote.
“Still angry about this,” another tweet said. “She’s used her intelligence to get on here, only to be insulted by a sexist and rude comment.”
According to the J! Archive, Ryan ended up finishing in second place with $19,600 — just $1 behind new champion Ian Taylor’s winning total of $19,601. She gets to take home $3,000 while Wallace finished in third place after winning four games in a row, collecting more than $80,000 altogether.
Ryan, a 30-year-old health program director for the Broome County Health Department, has not publicly commented on the controversy. TV Insider reports she appeared to scoff during the question and looked uncomfortable before ultimately chuckling along with the audience.
MORE BUZZ:
Buzz is a daily roundup of entertainment news about movies, TV, music and celebrities.