Jeopardy Fans Brought Out The Pitchforks After Ken Jennings Allows Contestant To Correct Himself

Jeopardy! fans are definitely known for being sticklers for the rules, and it doesn’t matter which host is standing behind the lectern. Social media users have critiqued Mayim Bialik for her share of supposed slip-ups — like calling the first round “Single Jeopardy!” — and it’s Ken Jennings' turn anew to face some backlash, with parts of the fanbase accusing him of showing favoritism to the current champion on the September 14 episode of Jeopardy!

Luigi de Guzman is on a four-game winning streak after a runaway game on Wednesday, in which some thought he received an unfair advantage from the host. For the category “Cons,” the contestants were shown a painting and asked to identify its British artist. When the attorney from Virginia buzzed in and responded, “What is Constant?” Ken Jennings asked for clarification, to which de Guzman said: 

This answer was accepted, and de Guzman was awarded accordingly. The Jeopardy! rulebook states, “Contestants may change their responses as long as neither the host nor the judges have made a ruling.” The controversy over said decision occurred when contestant Harriet Wagner, in the same game, misspoke and was ruled incorrect, despite her getting the right answer out before her time expired. 

Viewers voiced their opinions on Twitter, and the majority of those commenting on the situation were pretty upset that Jennings allowed Luigi de Guzman to correct himself, but not the challenger. For instance:

The more quizzical viewers didn’t like the inconsistency of Ken Jennings asking the champ to repeat himself, only to then immediately cut off Harriet Wagner when she gave the correct response. This fan pointed out that the change in money would have put Wagner in place to possibly win the game outright in “Final Jeopardy!” 

Some even took the leap to theorize that a Jeopardy! fix was at play, and pondered if the host and judges favored the multi-day champion:

Others wanted to know why Jennings even asked Luigi de Guzman to repeat his answer in the first place, when it was clearly wrong as stated. He should never have been given a second chance at the answer, fans argued.

The contestant himself took to Twitter for a long explanation of what happened from his perspective and to apologize publicly to Harriet Wagner: 

While it’s really nice to see the sportsmanship between the two Jeopardy! contestants, I don’t think anybody faults Luigi de Guzman for his actions, as he was simply playing the game, and anyone would take advantage of the chance for a redo. He couldn’t have known that the host was going to react in different ways to the similar scenarios. 

Harriet Wagner addressed her own mistake, calling the eventual winner “generous” for offering an apology admits the critical reactions from the general audience.

There are plenty of examples of Jeopardy! fans getting upset about certain goings-on in the gameplay, but it’s always nice when the contestants show such grace to each other when such moments come around. 

As Ken Jennings kicks off Jeopardy!’s 39th season, Mayim Bialik is set to lead the debut of Celebrity Jeopardy! when it premieres at 8 p.m. ET Sunday, September 25, on ABC. Jeopardy’s Tournament of Champions is also coming up soon, premiering October 31 and will feature some big changes to the annual tournament’s format. See what other premieres are coming up with our 2022 TV Schedule.