‘Jeopardy!’ Champ Jake DeArruda Responds to Critics, Then Loses
Jeopardy! contestant Jake DeArruda was “drowning out the haters” ahead of Wednesday’s (February 1) episode, where he was looking to secure his fourth win in a row.
The delivery dispatcher from Ludlow, Vermont, has been a divisive player among viewers, with some going as far as to call him the “most annoying contestant ever.” However, DeArruda was not letting the naysayers get to him.
“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to drown out the haters,” he tweeted, alongside a photo of himself in the shower being doused in champagne.
DeArruda received a lot of support in the comments, with one person telling him, “Only those who succeed tend to have haters. You have a quirky personality I’m here for it.”
“Good job! I get tired of haters on Twitter! Where’s the love?” wrote another, while one person added, “Haha, man it’s rough on here. But hey, to make it onto the long list of Jeopardy champions who got dragged on Twitter is an accomplishment in and of itself. I thought you did great.”
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to drown out the haters 😂 pic.twitter.com/lBMw7robiE
— Jake DeArruda (@threearruda) January 28, 2023
DeArruda isn’t the first Jeopardy! contestant to receive negative comments from viewers. Recent champ Ray LaLonde had his fair share of haters during his run on the show, and even comedian Hasan Minhaj felt the wrath of the Jeopardy! faithful during his appearance on Celebrity Jeopardy! last year.
However, while DeArruda might have tuned out the haters, he couldn’t overcome his opponent Patti Palmer on Wednesday’s show. The retired teacher and bookseller from Tulsa, Oklahoma, claimed an upset victory over the reigning champion by nailing the Final Jeopardy, which just so happened to be a literature question.
DeArruda got the answer wrong, while Palmer answered correctly and wagered a huge $16,000, winning her the episode with $32,200.
Taking to the Jeopardy! Reddit forum after the episode aired, DeArruda said, “Aaron [his other opponent] and I were, and still are, absolutely thrilled for Patti. She earned it today, no doubt about it!”
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R
I am so happy to see Jake go and that he was defeated by someone my age! She obviously had more knowledge of history and other information than he did. And when she won the audience was really clapping and cheering. You can have all the knowledge and win the games but if you lack humility , no one really supports you. Jake knew some answers for a couple of days but she was the winner, her demeaner and her brain!
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A
He was definitely quirky, but I had a fast-talking nephew with some of the same idiosyncrasies and it seems to often be a package. Embrace our differences. That’s what makes humanity interesting.
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B
I agree. I found him annoying, but I'm not going to trash him as a human being. Now that Yogesh guy, don't get me started.....
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R
He was arrogant, and that is not an idiosyncrasy. My daughter is smart and is a high functioning Asperberger Adult, but she is not arrogant.
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B
Can I tell you as a 65-year-old woman, how thrilling it was to see Patti knock this guy off! Delicious! Having said that, I don't "hate" Jake, but god was he annoying.
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R
Did not hate him either, but his arrogance and his comments about Mayim and critical of her hosting made me write him off. She has a doctorate in neurobiology - and she acts and makes money doing it - if he is smart, what does he do for a living?
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R
If the champion is arrogant, I record and just fast forward to the final jeopardy question to see if they lose. Now with Patti, I will watch! She was just lovely to watch and graceful when she won! To anyone who thinks older people have nothing compared to the young, think again and maybe read a book !
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B
Wait he won 3 games, meaning we'll never see him in the ToC or anything of consequence, knew his losing episode was about to air and still acted like a child? Glad I'll never have to think about him again.
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C
His antics were annoying and disrespectful to the other contestants. I noticed hat after his wins the contestants didn’t give him any props. They were even more repulsed by him than the audience was.
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R
If there is a contestant on we don't like we just won't watch, affecting Jeopardy's ratings!
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W
The squinty-eyed, childish ego-quirks were too much. And if not mistaken, Jake neglected to answer in the form of a question at least two discernable times in his last episode. Ken Jennings' lack of hosting acumen doesn't help matters.
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T
I agree the LOSER "forgot" to make a question, but don't diss Ken, please
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B
Perhaps Alex set the bar too high for anyone to reach.
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O
If he had won it would have been wrong. He did not answer in the form of a question.
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B
The show edits for time and it's pretty common to lose the interrogative during post.
If you replay and listen carefully you can usually hear the spit take at the beginning. But not always, it just depend on how tight they have to cut. It's happened a lot more the past few years as they have more emphasis on clearing the board and trying to have generous interview time.
Everybody doesn't have the same personality, for various reasons. Don't mistake them all as attitude.
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B
Definitely noticed the increase in interview time. The interrogative is a driving component of the game, no? Youd think theyd get the fundamentals right in post. After three nights on the show, you can pretty well gather a particular contestants personality in that setting. Jake was cocky; lots of folks noted it in their comments. "What's a spit take?"
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B
Glad he's OUT!! He has a revolting face! I loved watching him lose.
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O
So glad I'm not the only one
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T
I LOVED watching him lose. And he WAS fighting tears, so they got the camera off him quickly.
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O
I hate to be negative, but I only turn on for FJ just to be sure he'd lose. He was sooo annoying and and comes off like a cocky third greader, I was done watching Jeopardy until that shxthead was gone. Glad Patti won, and wish her the best. She's a winner no matter what.
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C
Jake & Mattea have the same mannerisms. Are they related? Do they have the same “syndrome?” Or are they just both annoying?
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C
I'm hoping Patti wins 5 games to get into the TOC! It would be good to see an older person compete.
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B
Loved seeing Patti win. I'd like it, too, if Ken didn't give other players an advantage like last night when the final clue was in literature and Ken reminded the other contestants that "Patti does work in a book store." Not cool.
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R
Me too!!! Love her and she had grace and wisdom!
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C
My first post sees a little harsh. Both contestants are undeniably super intelligent and their quirks do not outweigh their brilliance.
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G
It's a shame conflict of interest Jennings always gives helpful hints to the challenger while they're pondering their daily double bets so that challenger can catch the champ. The little man is so insecure somebody could someday beat his winning streak.
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