‘Jeopardy!’ host Ken Jennings apologizes for sexist clue

“What is … sexist?”

Ken Jennings apologized for a “problematic” clue during Monday’s episode of “Jeopardy!”

During the category “Complete the Rhyming Phrase,” the 50-year-old game show host gave the three contestants the phrase, “Men seldom make passes at…”

Returning champion Will Wallace correctly answered, “Girls who wear glasses.”

However, the situation became awkward because the female contestant, Heather Ryan, was wearing glasses.

“A little problematic, sorry Heather,” Jennings said about the phrase, uttered by famous poet Dorothy Parker.

“Very,” added Wallace.

Ryan, a health program director from Binghamton, New York, did not say anything about the sexist clue.

At the end of the game, Ryan lost by just $1 to new champion Ian Taylor, a food sales rep from Cleveland, Ohio.

“Jeopardy!” fans responded to the “problematic” clue incident on X (formerly Twitter).

“‘Yeah, a little problematic’ — Ken Um, then why didn’t you bring that up to the writers before the game?” one fan wrote.

“More like extremely problematic! #girlswithglasses,” someone else tweeted.

A third fan said, “Still angry about this. She’s used her intelligence to get on here, only to be insulted by a sexist and rude comment.”

Viewers also lashed out at the show and Jennings in a Reddit thread for the episode.

“Frankly, I don’t need to hear Ken read an obviously outdated and inappropriate clue and then call it ‘problematic,’” one fan wrote, adding, “Maybe he can use his position to get it switched out before it goes out over the air.”

Another critic said they were “very surprised” that the game show used the phrase.

“It was a weird choice. There are plenty of other rhyming phrases to choose from that don’t make your contestants, your host, and your audience visibly uncomfortable,” added a different person.

Jennings, a former “Jeopardy!” contestant who holds the record for the longest consecutive winning streak, became a guest co-host in 2021 following the death of the show’s original and legendary host, Alex Trebek. He became the show’s sole host for Season 40 when it began in September 2023 following Mayim Bialik’s exit.

However, Jennings reportedly does not have a long-term contract.

“Jeopardy!” fans have been unsparing in their criticism of Jennings. He’s received backlash for an array of foibles – not accepting an answer that was one letter off, accepting an answer that was mispronounced, allowing a guest to correct themselves and making a joke about the elderly that many deemed tasteless.

In August, there were rumors that Jennings could lose his job to Colin Jost, who is set to host the iconic series’ new spinoff, “Pop Culture Jeopardy!” 

However, The US Sun reported at the time that Sony, which produces “Jeopardy!”, has no plans to fire Jennings.

“The only real reason to replace Ken is if the ratings took a nosedive, and that hasn’t happened yet,” an insider said. “The show is holding steady.”

“Jeopardy!” airs weekdays at 7 p.m. ET.