‘Jeopardy!’ Fans React to Contestants Flubbing Easy Questions

Martin Holmes
3 Comments
Ken Jennings in 'Jeopardy'
ABC/Christopher Willard

Some Jeopardy! fans are running out of patience when it comes to the show’s contestants messing up what appear to be “easy” questions.

Things came to a head during last Wednesday’s (July 12) game when contestants Dennis Leung, Kathy Barkey, and two-day champion Ittai Sopher flubbed several questions throughout the episode. Flabbergasted viewers took to social media to express their frustration.

“Whoa! What was up with the folks on #Jeopardy tonight?” one fan tweeted. “For people of that caliber, those were some pretty basic questions that no one was getting…”

“It was cringeworthy. I immediately came here to see if I was just being cranky,” another viewer responded.

“Holy s***! I keep saying the Final #Jeopardy clues keep getting easier, but today’s takes the cake,” wrote another Twitter user. “So easy. However, two of the three contestants either misread or misunderstood the clue and didn’t get the answer right. Everyone involved at @Jeopardy should be ashamed.”

The question, under the Art History category, read “At the 1865 Paris art salon, the elder of these two men said, ‘If the younger were successful, it would be because his name sounds like mine.’”

Only one contestant got the answer right (“Who are (Édouard) Manet and (Claude) Monet?”) while the other two were deemed incorrect for only writing down one name.

However, others blamed the question writers, with one fan saying, “Very poorly worded question, IMO.”

“Exceptionally poorly worded final question on #Jeopardy tonight—looks like many were confused about whether it was asking for one name or two,” another viewer added.

During Wednesday’s episode, another fan pointed out, “Ken Jennings looking annoyed at the contestants fluffing some pretty easy questions.”

While some fans complained about the flubbing of “easy” questions, a former game show contestant defended the Jeopardy! players.

“As a longtime trivia player and former #WeakestLink contestant, I can tell you that answering questions is easier when you’re watching at home than when you’re in a TV studio,” Twitter user IanMorrison wrote. “If you think you’re better than they are you can take the test to try out.”

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  1. B

    BlueFan

    Mike Davies needs to go.

    3

  2. R

    RedPlane

    I recently returned to being a full time Jeopardy! viewer after reevaluating Ken Jennings’ performance as a host and liking him a lot more compared to when he first started. As I was watching it for the first time since then, I really did notice that the questions have become a lot easier but also not saying that I could perform better on the show. Also, when it comes to this Final Jeopardy!, I immediately thought of Ocean’s Eleven where George Clooney asks Julia Roberts ““Now, there’s Manet and Monet. I forget between the two, which one married his mistress?”

    2

    1. G

      GreenCarrot

      I've noticed recently that some of the clues are awkwardly phrased and take a few seconds to determine what response is required. The show has gone a bit downhill since Mr. Davies took charge.

      2