'Jeopardy!' player weighs in on 'problematic' glasses clue

‘Jeopardy!’ contestant who got in-show apology responds to ‘problematic’ glasses clue

The set of the "Jeopardy!" showing a Double Jeopardy! board

By Nardine SaadStaff Writer

Nov. 7, 2024 9:33 AM PT

The “Jeopardy!” contestant who received an in-show apology because of a “problematic” clue has responded to the flap.

The clue in question came from a famous Dorothy Parker quote, “Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses,” and contestants were asked to complete the latter part of the maxim for the rhyming-phrase category.

Heather Ryan, a bespectacled health director from upstate New York, said the Oct. 28 clue made people uncomfortable.

“It is definitely an odd choice,” Ryan told Binghamton University newspaper Pipe Dream. “I think it made everybody in the audience and on stage, and [host] Ken Jennings too, a little uncomfortable. It was like, ‘Oh, that was unexpected.’ ”

When game-design director Will Wallace correctly completed the quote, Jennings immediately called the answer “a little problematic,” turning to Ryan and saying, “Sorry, Heather.”

Some “Jeopardy!” viewers took issue with the line’s appearance, branding it as sexist in online discourse. The saying — believed to be a witticism about Parker’s own romantic foibles — has been used on the show in some form at least a dozen times since 1985, according to the fan-operated J! archive. It had not been used in more than a decade before showing up on Ryan’s episode.

“Maybe we choose better rhyming phrases in 2024,” Ryan said Monday. “Unfortunately, there are still girls who are [in] middle school and they don’t want to wear their glasses and they’re losing out on their education. So, I think it’s much better to be able to see than anything else.”

The Broome County Health Department director lost to Cleveland food sales representative Ian Taylor, coming in second after falling short by $1 in Final Jeopardy. Wallace, who had been a four-day streak, came in third. Despite the headline-making clue and her loss, Ryan spoke fondly of her “fun” run on the show and said that everybody there was very welcoming. She also kept in touch with her fellow contestants.

“It’s just a very special thing to play a small role in this big part,” she said. “It’s been running for 40 years, and so I got to play my part in it.”

Ryan’s episode aired days after two former Sony Pictures Entertainment employees filed gender and race discrimination complaints against “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune.” In response to the complaints, the game shows’ parent company said that the new leadership team on the shows was “dedicated to fostering a culture of inclusivity and respect” and that Sony “takes all allegations of discrimination very seriously.”

Representatives for “Jeopardy!” declined to comment Thursday.