“Jeopardy!” fans are not happy that several contestants got an answer correct but still lost due to flubbing the pronunciation.
Host Mayim Bialik presented the clue during the category “The Quotable Alex.”
“An author and former prisoner: ‘Socialism of any type and shade leads to a total destruction of the human spirit,’” she said.
“Jeopardy!” contestant Juveria Zaheer was the first to buzz in with the correct answer, which was Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. But she was rejected for mispronouncing the famous author’s complicated last name.
Sami Casanova buzzed in with the correct answer as well, but was also rejected for not properly pronouncing “Solzhenitsyn.”
A third contestant, Hannah Wilson, also gave the name a go but was rejected.
“This is a tricky one to pronounce; looking for ‘Solzhenitsyn,’” Bialik said, pronouncing the name correctly.
Fans on Twitter were annoyed that none of the contestants got credit for the right answer despite getting very close to saying the name right.
“If you’re not going to accept anyone’s attempt to pronounce Solzhenitsyn, don’t write a clue about him,” one person wrote.
“Solzhenitsyn. I get it’s hard to say but one of them was fairly close. Of all the names to be strict on …,” another Twitter user replied. Another viewer called the ruling “absurd.”
But there were “Jeopardy!” fans defending the decision too, noting how the show always takes pronunciation into consideration and shouldn’t have made an exception in this case.
I’m on Jeopardy’s side. The fact that they had this Solzhenitsyn quote on. Say this man’s name right. https://t.co/3j3Qyz9af5 pic.twitter.com/sfz9nsXkFt
— Leslie-Lou (@lalasugarloaf) May 10, 2023
“I’m on Jeopardy’s side. The fact that they had this Solzhenitsyn quote on. Say this man’s name right,” one person wrote.
In March, host Ken Jennings came under fire for not accepting one contestant’s pronunciation during the show.
The question asked was: “After the Last Supper, Jesus traveled to this garden to pray and was arrested there.” Contestant Kevin Manning rang in with the correct answer, the Garden of Gethsemane, but did not pronounce it correctly when he omitted the “n” sound at the end.
Fans were further outraged when Jennings also mispronounced the answer, saying the word with a soft “g” and accepting that pronunciation from another contestant.