12 ‘Jeopardy!’ Contestants Branded ‘Annoying’ by Fans
Jeopardy! viewers can be a tough crowd to please, with many having strong opinions about contestants, hosts, and the show itself.
This passionate fanbase can often lead to snap judgments, especially if a contestant is a little quirky or different from what fans have come to expect of a regular Jeopardy! player. And these viewers are certainly not afraid to let their voices be heard on social media.
Many players have been labeled “most annoying contestant ever” over the years, sometimes two or more within the same week! This could be due to their perceived attitude, facial expressions, dress sense, question-answering style, or simply body movements. Any of these things could be enough to get branded “annoying,” even if the contestant is just being themself!
Comedian Hasan Minhaj knows this first hand, as some viewers dubbed him the “most annoying contestant ever” when he appeared on Celebrity Jeopardy! last year. Fans did not like his enthusiastic and boisterous playstyle and took to Twitter to complain.
Minhaj later brought the backlash up when he appeared on The Tonight Show, even referencing a TV Insider article about the situation. “This past week, I was on Celebrity Jeopardy, and now fans of Jeopardy hate my guts,” he explained to Jimmy Fallon. “I have this unique power to piss off dedicated nerds.”
“That one hurt because the show’s been on for over 58 years,” he said regarding the “most annoying contestant ever” tag. “And they’ve had 15,000 contestants on the show… Maybe my dad was wrong; he said I’d never break records on that show.”
We’ve listed 12 former Jeopardy! contestants below who fans have called “annoying” in the past. Minhaj is not included, as the list is focused only on regular Jeopardy!
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Yogesh Raut
Some viewers took a dislike to recent champ Yogesh Raut for what they perceived as arrogance and a lack of good sportsmanship. Raut responded to criticism in a series of Facebook rants.
Jake DeArruda
Delivery dispatcher Jake DeArruda attracted his fair share of Twitter hate due to his expressive mannerisms.
Mattea Roach
Super-champ Mattea Roach has plenty of fans, but some viewers also found them annoying during their run. Again, mannerisms (particularly their hand positioning) seemed to be their biggest crime.
Matt Amodio
One of the show’s winningest contestants in recent memory, Matt Amodio would ultimately become a fan-fave. But he was also deemed annoying early on for his quirk of answering “what is” to every question, whether it was a thing or a person.
Laura Ashby
Laura Ashby appeared on the show in 2015 and fans took an instant disliking to her voice, particularly her “upward inflection.”
Arthur Chu
Arthur Chu annoyed viewers by bringing game theory to his playstyle, jumping around the board and breaking up the show’s usual formula.
At the time, Chu told Fox News, “Between $10,000 and getting haters on Twitter, the $10,000 is more important to me.”
Julia Markham Cameron
Facial expressions were the point of contention again for Julia Markham Cameron when she appeared on the show in 2021. Her animated responses and “WTF faces” left a lasting impression.
James Holzhauer
James Holzhauer is a bonafide Jeopardy! legend, but his playstyle split viewers. Some admired his impressive trivia knowledge, while others found him to be “smug.”
Austin Rogers
Austin Rogers went on an incredible 12-day winning streak back in 2017. However, some viewers found his over-the-top intros to be annoying.
Matt Jackson
Matt Jackson stormed through the competition back in 2015, but annoyed some fans along the way. In particular, viewers took issue with his “slow-building smile” and excessive celebrating after nailing a tough question. He is perhaps most famed for celebrating with a ‘Boom!’ after getting a Daily Double.
David Bederman
When it came to David Bederman’s gameplay, viewers found his reactions to correct responses frustrating.
Aaron Craig
Self-congratulatory clapping was the final straw for viewers when it came to player Aaron Craig.
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Conversation41 Comments
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B
Loved James Holzhauer his intelligence was amazing!
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O
James Holzhauer is one of my favorites!!
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G
All these 3 are being annoying but Amy made me want to pull my hair out!
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G
We're probably all annoying to someone somewhere but none of these people are as annoying as Mayim Bialik.
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O
None of these people are as annoying as Mayim Bialik.
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P
Yet… she still on the show…. Is anything we ought to know why?
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G
Holzhauer was AMAZING!!
TOTAL GOAT.
Confidence iwas nit "smugness", in his case.
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P
Jake DeArruda was the most annoying. I'm glad others didn't like his stupid expressions. Him being young had nothing to do with it. He was just been an AH.
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B
Did anyone else notice Jake was toning it down on the episode he lost? I think someone got to him and said "take it easy". Guess we won't ever know.
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O
I would wager a bet that he’s on the autism spectrum
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J
Some 'fans' are awfully sensitive and easily annoyed. If an annoying characteristic by a Jeopardy contestant is your worst problem, then thank your lucky stars for a good life.
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G
We were asked, we replied.
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J
That's true, the question was asked, people replied.
BUT.... anyone who reads this site regularly knows that ANY article about Jeopardy brings out strong opinions, unkind, and even rude comments. And those are UNSOLICITED.
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O
Here's an idea: The 10 Most Annoying Articles on TV Insider
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G
Most of these things about people, we should just get over.
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O
I’m not sure if that’s a thumbs up or down? But she annoyed the H out of me!
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A
I admit, Jake Arruda from the recent "Jeopardy" eps annoyed me quite a bit. Good thing he didn't last much longer.
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G
How could you leave Rowan off this list?
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O
Can’t even watch the show when Mattea Roach makes an appearance.
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G
Mattea Roach has real class...definitely brilliant!!
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B
Totally agree. I didn't care for Mattea's antics whatsoever, but my wife absolutely could not stand her. She would pray every night for Mattea to lose, lol.
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B
Ironic how Arthur Chu was considered annoying then for jumping around and starting at the bottom of the board, to maximize his money, when virtually all the contestants do that now.
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G
I didn't mind the "board jumping" since others did that before him and plenty more have adopted that strategy since then. What I didn't like about him was his keenness on interrupting Alex. That's a no-no as far as I'm concerned.
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G
The guy just a couplle of months ago, who "swayed" back and forth made me nuts! It was distracting!
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G
I hope she spent some of her money on finishing the job. Somebody took her out of the oven long before it was done.
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G
I LOVED her and she is smart as heck. What was annoying about her?
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G
I thought she was amazing and would be regardless of her gender! Very polite, well-spoken and smart as hell!
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G
Austin Rogers and Matt Jackson were a couple of my favorites.
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P
I find more of them annoying than the ones I don’t.
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O
No one is more annoying than conflict of interest Ken Jennings who has a winning streak to protect.
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B
We loved James. He seems like a normal person and a good guy. He does have a weird smile though, lol. Most of these people are just strange in the way they act, look and dress. They are very intelligent but sometimes they have no common sense when they wager on a daily double or in final jeopardy.
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G
We enjoy the game , but wish Mayim would get more time as host.
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P
Do you mean MORE TIME OUT?????
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C
Ken Jennings is an irritating person who repeatedly reminds everyone how smart he is. In short, he’s just a blow hard!!!
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B
Says the fan of Mayim "I'm a real neuroscientist" Bialik... 😑
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R
Worse yet was her TV ads that aired while she was hosting. Talk about self-marketing!
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O
Ya weren’t you Beyond disgusted to listen to that self promoting BS!!!
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P
Ignorant and jealous people feel underrated when an intelligent person (Ken) talks….
Poor little frustrated people that cannot accept better intelligence
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B
Agree. Ken is an arrogant as they come and tries to hide it during the show. But every so often his true character comes out and mentions how great he is to the audience.
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B
None of these people are as annoying as Ken Jennings
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O
OBVIOUSLY YOU AND THE DUDE BELOW ARE IN THE MAJOR MINORITY, so get a life!!!
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