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Jeopardy! fans have called back on to episodes from 2022 to prove co-host, Mayim Bialik, accepts "illegible" answers.
The heated response came after two episodes last week when Bialik was accused of allowing answers through, despite the contestants' incorrect spelling or messy handwriting.
It all started when, at the time, four-day champ Suresh Krishnan was given the green light in the Final Jeopardy! round on Monday, June 12's episode.
The category was "Women in Mythology" and the Final Jeopardy! clue read: "The name of this woman, the product of an incestuous union, means 'against birth.'"
"The answer was 'Antigone,' but Krishnan spelt it 'Antigoni' with messy handwriting, but Bialik declared his response as 'correct.' @Jeopardy @missmayim Here's why @JeopardyBenBen should have won that game. This response was ruled correct by Mayim and it's all but illegible. So if Ben had just scribbled his answer he'd probably still be winning," complained one fan on Twitter.
But another person on Twitter brought out an example from a similar incident during an episode in 2022 which was hosted by Bialik's contemporary, Ken Jennings, but came out with a very different result.
The episode happened on June 17 last year and contestant Sadie Goldberg was attempting to answer "who is Harriet Tubman," the American abolitionist who escaped slavery.
Jennings knocked back Goldberg's attempt by saying it seemed like she was writing "Harriet Tubman" but didn't quite complete the answer correctly.
"*#JeopardySPOILER!!* Mayim to Sadie: 'I looks like you were going for Harriet Tubman, but did not finish. I'm sorry.' Mayim to Suresh: 'Who is- looks like- Antigone? That is correct!' Look, I'd accept both. It's the FJ @jeopardy process in the digital age that crazy," tweeted one person.
Just a day after that controversy, Laura Blyler Scanland also came under fire for her "insane" response to a question.
The Final Jeopardy! clue read: "He starred in the two films whose soundtracks were the top two bestselling albums of 1978."
The answer was, "who is John Travolta," and Scanland had started to write his name but also included a crossed out a word that read "Bacon."
"The fact that this was accepted as a correct final #Jeopardy response is absolutely insane," wrote one annoyed fan on Twitter.
According to Jeopardy! rules, contestants are allowed to spell their answers incorrectly, but must "phonetically" align with the correct response.
"Written responses to the Final Jeopardy! clue do not have to be spelled correctly, but they must be phonetically correct and not add or subtract any extraneous sounds or syllables," is the rule, according to the Jeopardy! website.
"For example, 'Jepurdee!' would probably be an acceptable spelling in a Final Jeopardy! response."
About the writer
Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more