‘Jeopardy’ Host Ken Jennings Under Fire for Cheating Accusations: “Did Ken Just Give This Guy an Extra Clue?”

Trouble is bubbling within the Jeopardy! fandom. Host Ken Jennings was accused of giving a contestant an extra clue during Tuesday’s (Feb. 7) episode of the game show. He has since taken to Twitter to dismiss the claims and give context to his behavior – but is that enough?

The competition featured three-day champ Matthew competing against Greg, a previous The Price is Right winner, and Carolyn, an associate professor. The group got off to a great start with all contestants delivering correct answers in the first round, setting up a tough competition. 

The game got a bit muddled during the Double Jeopardy! round, however. The category was “Literary Title Characters,” and Jennings read the $400 clue: “Lord Henry tells him, ‘To get back my youth (I’d) do anything… except take exercise, get up early, or be respectable’; Wilde!”

When Matthew buzzed in, Jennings recalled that Matthew previously named Wilde as his favorite author. The host exclaimed, “He’s your favorite writer!” which left some viewers upset and accusing Jennings of giving the contestant an upper hand. Matthew guessed “Who is Ernest?” when the correct answer was Dorian Grey. 

Following this round, the Jeopardy! Reddit channel and Twitter ignited in conversation about Jennings’ alleged faux-pas. One viewer tweeted, “@Jeopardy what’s up with giving the contestant a clue before answering?! @KenJennings,” to which Jennings replied, “The last word in the clue was ‘Wilde.’ Nobody added a hint.”

The last word in the clue was “Wilde.” Nobody added a hint.

— Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) February 8, 2023

The original tweeter offered his gratitude to Jennings for his clarification, writing, “I see. He got the wrong book title from Wilde. Guess viewers like myself were thrown off by the comment during a contestant’s thought process after ringing in. Thank you for clarifying, Ken. Keep up the great work.”

Another Twitter user in the comments chimed in to agree with the original tweet. “Thanks for jumping in Ken.  But that assumes he caught “Wilde” in the clue.  And yes it didn’t affect the outcome but still feels inappropriate to add something after the clue.  You do a great job as host, but honestly this came across to the average viewer as a hint,” they wrote.

A third commented, “It gave a potential advantage. Contestants misinterpret clues and categories all the time. Happened in the same game. Giving a player assurance after they buzz in no matter how obvious it seems is bad for the game.”

I saw it also.
And even though the point is moot since Matthew got it wrong, and the word “Wilde” is there. It was just an odd moment. (And I do like Ken)

And there are a few blasting us “ if you paid attention… the word is there!” Eh, whatever. pic.twitter.com/vJyGARijlF

— AC  (@ACinPhilly) February 8, 2023

On the subreddit for the show, viewers expressed their frustration on the game thread for the episode. A confused fan wrote, “Did Ken just give this guy an extra clue?” opening the door to a larger conversation, much like the Twitter comment. 

While some defended Jennings, using the same logic that the show host mentioned in his response, others felt as though it was a major error.

“Ken absolutely added information. I’m Ken’s biggest fan but this was a blunder. ‘Wilde’ was the last word of the clue. It had a double meaning, the second being an implied, ‘that’s wild!’ The first was that he was the author, but you had to figure that out,” one wrote. “The clue didn’t say Oscar Wilde was the author of the work that featured Lord Henry. Ken gave that away, and after Matthew had rung in and before he answered. A solid hint. It’s just lucky Matthew didn’t get it.”

Another questioned the accuracy of the game as a whole, writing, “As someone stated above, if Matthew had gotten it correct, a replacement answer/question would probably have been substituted and we never would have known that happened. The beauty of editing.”

Since Jennings’ behavior caused such a backlash, maybe he’ll think twice before offering personal commentary in the future.