‘Jeopardy!’ Faces Criticism for Question on Neo-Pronouns

JEOPARDY! host Ken Jennings, a 74-time champion of the popular quiz show, is seen in an undated handout photo. The Canadian Press/AP-HO, JEOPARDY!

Amid Monday’s episode of “Jeopardy!” a single clue has sparked a firestorm among fans.

In the category “Speech! Parts of Speech!” a contestant opted for the $600 clue, which, as host Ken Jennings articulated, was “xem, xyrs, xemself.” Responding promptly, the same contestant buzzed in, confidently asserting, “What are pronouns?” Mr. Jennings concurred, awarding the contestant with the prize money while adding, “Those are pronouns, neopronouns.”

The term “neo” signifies “new,” neopronouns denote recently coined pronouns, often utilized to circumvent traditional gender-specific pronouns such as “he” or “she.”

Although the show swiftly progressed to the next question, a significant portion of the viewership expressed astonishment at the inclusion of a neopronoun clue in the game show.

“Neo pronouns no thank you jeopardy” posted one individual on social media platform X. The “Libs of Tiktok“ account shared the clip on X, which has garnered over 1.4 million impressions with the caption: ”Jeopardy is now incorporating questions on the made-up pronouns xem/xyrs. You can now win money for affirming mental illness.”

Numerous fans invoked the memory of the late Alex Trebek, the revered former host who passed away in 2020 after battling pancreatic cancer. The sentiment prevailed that Mr. Trebek would have abstained from allowing such a question on the show.

In 2017, the show featured a category titled “Stay Woke,” however, the questions and clues were about sleep and stimulants. The episode featured Mr. Trebek in a Canadian hockey jersey uttering the phrase several times.

This controversy comes nearly 2 months after Mayim Bialik announced she was fired from her role as host. Ms. Bialik’s departure from “Jeopardy!” came after Sony informed her that her contract option for the syndicated version would not be picked up, despite her contract extending until the end of the season with a one-year option remaining. The decision stemmed from concerns about her performance, with some sources suggesting that Mr. Jennings had outperformed her as host. Ms. Bialik’s absence during the current season, due to her support for a writers’ strike, also contributed to the decision.  Several online social media users suggested that Ms. Bialik’s ousting from the show was due to her speaking out in support of Israel after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. While there is a possibility for her to return to host prime-time episodes in the future, Ms. Bialik made it clear to Sony that it was an “all or nothing” situation, and Sony declined to maintain the relationship based on those terms.

The Epoch Times reached out to Jeopardy for comment.