‘Jeopardy’ Contestant Dubbed “The Most Annoying Contestant” By Fans For His “Poor Sportsmanship”

Jeopardy contestant Aaron Craig is facing some serious backlash from viewers at home for his enthusiastic reaction to winning Friday’s (Nov. 3) Champions Wildcard tournament.

Across social media, fans are criticizing Craig for displaying “poor sportsmanship” when he was crowned winner. Footage from the episode shows Craig pointing and blowing a kiss to the audience before he joined the audience’s applauses and yelled, “Let’s go!” Some viewers at home noted that he was likely pointing towards his two kids who were watching from the audience.

Jeopardy fans were divided by his controversial reaction – some felt that he had the right to celebrate the win, while others called his behavior “boorish” and “unsportsmanlike.”

“Is there a more unlikeable contestant than Aaron?” one fan wrote on X.

Another fan tweeted Craig directly on X. “You might possibly be the most annoying contestant I have ever seen on the Alex Trebek stage,” they wrote. “Your reaction at the end of double jeopardy was tasteless. Completely on brand for you, completely poor sportsmanship.”

Fortunately for Craig, some Jeopardy viewers didn’t see anything wrong with how he reacted to winning.

“Sure, Aaron’s reactions are unusual, but there’s nothing wrong with them. Being excited by reaching the final, and showing it, is totally OK,” one fan commented.

A user claiming to be Craig weighed in on the controversy over on the show’s Reddit page, where his behavior was a hot topic for that episode’s discussion.

He wrote, “I’m sorry if I got overly excited. I certainly didn’t mean to show anybody up, but my kids were there and I couldn’t believe that they got to watch me not just play in a semifinal, but win! Anyone who thinks I was over the top, that’s 1000% fair. No argument here.”

He also praised his opponents, who he said were “amazing and lovely and brilliant.”

“Either one would have been a great and deserving winner today,” he wrote.

The Canada-based attorney was crowned winner of Friday’s episode after all three of the contestants failed to answer the Final Jeopardy question. He had the most earnings and left the show with $9,768 after betting just $32 on the losing puzzle.

He will now be moving on to the final stage of the Champions Wildcard tournament after competing in the semi-finals.

Scroll up to check out Craig’s controversial reaction.