'Jeopardy!' Fans Dispute Show's Rulings In Recent Episode
“Jeopardy!” viewers weighed in on Twitter this week over how the show handled two contestants’ responses during an episode that aired on Monday.
The questions over the show’s rules follow a response from contestant Stephen Webb ― who went on to win his eighth-straight game on Thursday ― as he took a shot at host Ken Jennings’ clue about “the corpse flower,” Newsweek reported.
“Is that the corpse blossom? What’s the corpse blossom, corpse flower?” Webb said in response to Jennings on Monday.
Jennings approved the response. But another contestant, Karen Rittenbach, failed to get points in response to a clue about Harry Chapin’s hit song “Cats In The Cradle.”
“What’s Cat’s Cradle?” Rittenbach responded. Jennings said “no.”
“What’s ‘Cats in the Cradle?’” she continued.
“I’m sorry, Karen, I’d already ruled against you by the time you corrected yourself,” Jennings replied.
Fans jumped to Twitter to address the two contestants’ responses.
"Sorry Karen, only Stephen gets to ramble off 3 different answers." -Ken #jeopardy
— James Lewison (@squand4) March 13, 2023
#Jeopardy
Stephen: *rambles off three different answers and is ruled correct*
Karen: *gets ruled incorrectly after one answer*
Stephen: pic.twitter.com/66exuqGm7l— Not Mark Wahlberg (@_MarkWithAnM) March 13, 2023
Watching with my non-fan 30yr old kid and she wondered out loud how they (J!) decide the multiple answer thing. My answer wasn’t consistent with the Karen answer.
— Socomoddjob (@socomoddjob) March 14, 2023
The difference in the ruling of the two contestants’ responses, as echoedby some Twitter users, stems from a rule that states “contestants may change their responses as long as neither the host nor the judges have made a ruling.”
Lilly Nelson, a longtime viewer who tweets under the handle @OneEclecticMom, pointed to a drawn-out response from Webb in an episode last week and noted that Jennings waited to see if he’d complete the title.
“IMO Ken is actually really good at managing this in the moment, if the contestant has completed their answer (like Karen w/ Cat’s Cradle) he usually rules quickly before they rephrase it,” wrote Nelson, who is known as a “Jeopardy Fashion Connoisseur.”
“But he waits longer if the answer is partially correct and just needs additional info,” she continued.
Nelson added that Webb has been “quick to squeeze in multiple versions of an answer” although it’s within the rules of the show.
IMO Ken is actually really good at managing this in the moment, if the contestant has completed their answer (like Karen w/ Cat's Cradle) he usually rules quickly before they rephrase it. But he waits longer if the answer is partially correct and just needs additional info.
— Lilly (@OneEclecticMom) March 14, 2023
Stephen IS quick to squeeze in multiple versions of an answer, but it's within the rules.
Corpse blossom may have been an acceptable answer (Ken likely hesitated to get a ruling from the judges, & Stephen said corpse flower before they ruled)
Cherry blossom tree is fine.— Lilly (@OneEclecticMom) March 14, 2023