Jeopardy fans upset as all 3 contestants lose clue over mispronunciation of correct response

Not every Jeopardy contestant can be well versed in the nuances of Russian pronunciation.

Fans of the venerable quiz show were upset Monday evening when all three contestants lost out on an otherwise correct response because they mispronounced Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's name. Returning champion Hannah Wilson ultimately won the episode, but not before she and competitors Sami Casanova and Juveria Zaheer lost out on a Double Jeopardy clue.

The $1600 clue, under the category "The Quotable Alex," read: "An author & former prisoner: 'Socialism of any type & shade leads to a total destruction of the human spirit.'" All three contestants rang in and went for Solzhenitsyn, the correct response, but couldn't quite nail the pronunciation that host Mayim Bialik had been hoping for.

"This is a tricky one to pronounce," Bialik said.

Many Jeopardy devotees were not pleased.

"Eh I did not like that Solzhenitsyn ruling," one viewer tweeted.

"If you're not going to accept anyone's attempt to pronounce Solzhenitsyn, don't write a clue about him," another added.

Fans in a Reddit thread for the show lamented that the ruling could set "an awkward precedent for the future." One wrote, "A good reason for them to abandon these types of clues. It's one thing with clues that ask about translation of common French or Spanish words or idioms, but Russian has several letters that are difficult for Americans."

Another argued that Wilson's pronunciation "fit within the guideline of being reasonably supported by the spelling."

Wilson, who won $34,200, will advance to the 2023 Tournament of Champions.

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