Ken Jenningsfound himself in an uncomfortable situation over a “problematic” statement made onJeopardy!
The awkward moment took place during the category “Complete the Rhyming Phrase” on a Monday, October 28 episode of the long-runninggame show.
The 50-year-old talk show presented the phrase, “Men seldom make passes at…” to the contestants, leading returning champion Will Wallace to answer correctly with, “Girls who wear glasses.”
RELATED:
During Monday’sJeopardy!episode, Ken Jennings stumbled into controversy with a “problematic” phrase in the “Complete the Rhyming Phrase” category
Image credits:Jeopardy!
But the iconic Dorothy Parker line didn’t sit well with some, as Heather Ryan, a fellow contestant onstage, happened to bewearing glassesherself.
Ken quickly sensed the awkwardness and apologized to her on-air, saying, “A little problematic, sorry, Heather.”
Will chimed in, agreeing with a simple, “Very.”
Heather, a health program director from Binghamton,New York, stayed silent, but the exchange set off a reaction on social media that lingered long after the episode wrapped.
Many viewers turned to X (formerly known as Twitter) to call out Ken and the show’s writers, questioning why such an outdated phrase was included in the first place.
“More like extremely problematic! #girlswithglasses,” one wrote, while another said, “‘Yeah, a little problematic’ — Ken Um, then why didn’t you bring that up to the writers before the game?”
Ken, a formerJeopardy!champion, became the sole host of the long-running game show after co-host Mayim Bialik’s exit
The episode also sparked a heated discussion onReddit, with one user saying, “Frankly, I don’t need to hear Ken read an obviously outdated andinappropriateclue and then call it ‘problematic.’ Maybe he can use his position to get it switched out before it goes out over the air.”
Ken and Mayim Bialik were announced as co-hosts for the show in July 2022. However, theBig Bang Theoryactress eventually exited, leaving Ken the show’s sole host, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in March of this year.
Thanks! Check out the results:Rugilė Žemaitytė
Larysa Perih
Neilas Šurkus
Entertainment
