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Jeopardy! fans seemingly all had an opinion about that controversial clue from last week, which came off as “sexist” to some and involved Ken Jennings apologizing to a female contestant on stage. Now that contestant, Heather Ryan, is sharing her opinion for the first time.
During October 28’s episode, the players had to complete the $400 rhyming phrase “Men seldom make passes at…” Returning champ Will Wallace correctly responded, “Girls who wear glasses,” — but things got awkward because Ryan was wearing glasses. Host Jennings apologized for the phrase coined by famous poet Dorothy Parker. “A little problematic, sorry, Heather,” he said. Wallace agreed with a nod and sternly said, “Very.”
On Monday, November 4, Ryan, a health program director based in Binghamton, New York, spoke to Pipe Dream, the student-run newspaper of Binghamton University. She told the paper that the moment was as “uncomfortable” as it seemed.
“It is definitely an odd choice,” Ryan said, referring to the clue. “I think it made everybody in the audience and on stage, and Ken Jennings too, a little uncomfortable. It was like, ‘oh, that was unexpected.’”
Ryan argued that, even if the clue came from a feminist poet, it didn’t hold up today and may have hurt the confidence of younger girls who are prescribed glasses.
“Maybe we choose better rhyming phrases in 2024,” she continued. “Unfortunately, there are still girls who are [in] middle school and they don’t want to wear their glasses and they’re losing out on their education. So, I think it’s much better to be able to see than anything else.”
That said, Ryan otherwise had a positive experience on the quiz show. “It was very fun. I had a great time. Everybody there was very welcoming. It’s just a very special thing to play a small role in this big part,” she added. “It’s been running for 40 years, and so I got to play my part in it.”
“‘Yeah, a little problematic’ — Ken Um, then why didn’t you bring that up to the writers before the game?,” another post read.
Other fans later defended the quiz show after seemingly every major publication picked it up, and chalked up the backlash to people not knowing the quote’s origins. As did longtime Jeopardy! producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss who discussed the clue on the latest Inside Jeopardy! podcast.
“I think many people thought the Jeopardy! writers wrote this, or thought this,” she said. “But in fact, Dorothy Parker wrote this, about 100 years ago, in a 1926 book. We were simply, just, filling in the category.”
“And Ken in the moment was like, ‘Oh gosh, woah that’s harsh’ to Heather, because he was just being a host in the moment.”
“But I really think that people out there are convinced that Jeopardy! writers pinned this because they think ‘men seldom make passes…’” Foss added. “I don’t know! Sometimes the clickbait, it’s too much.”
Neither Ryan nor the returning champ won the game; Wallace lost his four day, $79,998 winning streak to the third contestant.