Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings sparks uproar with 'BRUTAL' ruling which cost contestants thousands

By Cydney Yeates For Dailymail.Com 15:23 04 Jul 2024, updated 19:09 04 Jul 2024

Jeopardy! viewers were enraged by host Ken Jennings' 'disgusting' ruling during Wednesday night's episode after he refused to accept an answer because it had been pluralized.

The presenter, 50, sparked controversy in the first game when he asked contestants Dana Keane, Isaac Hirsch, and returning champion Kelly Proulx a question from the 'Waterfalls' category.

For $2,000, Ken said: 'A Yosemite fall with a wispy ribbon of water that flutters in the air like a diaphanous cloth bears the name of this marital wear.'

Kelly buzzed in with: 'What is Bridalveil Falls?'

Ken refused to accept her answer because she had added an 's' to the word 'fall.'

As she was stripped of $2,000 from her cash pot, he said: 'No, I'm sorry. It's actually Bridalveil Fall, so we couldn't take that. It is, "What is a Bridalveil?"'

Ken's savage verdict meant that by the end of the first round, reigning champion Kelly landed in last place with $3,600, while Dana was slightly ahead at $3,900, and Isaac in first place with $4,000.

Sadly for Kelly she couldn't get back on top by Final Jeopardy! and bowed out of the game with $7,000.

Isaac, meanwhile, stormed ahead with $19,185 and will compete in Thursday's episode.

Frustrated viewers flocked to social media to call out Ken and the show for its 'pedantic' ruling.

'Ready to individually fight the Jeopardy judges for ruling "Bridalveil Falls" wrong because of the extra "s" that was not germane to the clue,' fumed one viewer on X. 'Being pedantic to that degree is disgusting and negatively affects the game.'

Over on Reddit, another added: 'I typically give long and wide deference to the judges, but f**k the judges for that ruling.

'There is nothing pinning the clue to "fall," so she got the required information correct. That was positively disgusting.'

A third confused fan said: 'If the clue only required you to say "Bridalveil," why does it matter if Kelly said "fall" or "falls" after? People call it "Bridalveil Falls" all the time, including the National Park Service!'

'To rule her incorrect there was extremely pedantic IMO,' blasted a fourth.

A fifth added: 'Yeesh that's a brutal call on the last clue.'

Another deemed the rulings 'arbitrary as heck.'

Ken's divisive ruling comes just two days after he accepted a mispronounced answer which fans declared 'soured the whole game.'

The controversial moment took place when Ken presented the players with a clue from the anatomy category.

Reading aloud the clue, he said: 'There are both false and true vocal cords in this hollow, tubular structure, also called the voice box.'

One player then buzzed in and answered 'what's the lar-nyx?' which the presenter accepted, despite it not being the correct pronunciation.