‘Jeopardy!’ Boss Brushes Off ‘Sexist’ Clue After Backlash

The iconic game show Jeopardy! has found itself at the center of a social media storm after airing a question last week that struck a nerve with viewers. Producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss has now stepped in to clarify the show’s intentions, pushing back against the claims of sexism that followed.

The backlash began with the October 28 episode, where contestants were tasked with completing the rhyming phrase, “Men seldom make passes at…” Contestant Will Wallace correctly replied, “Girls who wear glasses,” quoting poet Dorothy Parker’s well-known line from 1926. Yet, tension spiked as fellow contestant Heather Ryan, sporting a pair of glasses herself, found herself inadvertently on the receiving end of the statement.

Host Ken Jennings immediately responded to the potential awkwardness, adding, “A little problematic, sorry Heather.” Wallace agreed, calling the phrase “very” problematic. But this wasn’t enough to keep the comment from sparking a debate on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit.

“Still angry about this,” one viewer tweeted. “She’s used her intelligence to get on here, only to be insulted by a sexist and rude comment.” Another user on Reddit questioned the writers’ choice: “There are plenty of other rhyming phrases to choose from that don’t make your contestants, your host, and your audience visibly uncomfortable.”

In response to the public criticism, Foss, a veteran Jeopardy! producer with over two decades on the show, set the record straight on the recent Inside Jeopardy! podcast. She explained that the quote wasn’t an original line from the Jeopardy! writers but rather a well-known literary phrase by Parker.

“I think many people out there thought the Jeopardy! writers wrote this,” she clarified. “But Dorothy Parker wrote this nearly 100 years ago, in a 1926 book. We were simply filling in the category.”

The controversy went beyond online discourse, according to Foss’s podcast co-host and former Jeopardy! champion Buzzy Cohen. “Someone ran up to me in a coffee shop,” Cohen recounted, “and asked, ‘What’s going on with the glasses? Making fun of them?’ I was just as surprised as anyone!”

Cohen and Foss both agreed that Jennings tried to handle the moment with sensitivity, even adding a bit of humor to lighten the tension. “Ken was just being a host in the moment,” Foss explained. Cohen added, “He was having a little fun by calling out the clue on the spot.” However, both acknowledged that the optics of the line, especially with a female contestant in glasses, could have been jarring for audiences today.

As Foss put it, Jeopardy! simply “filled in the category” but underestimated how a historical phrase might clash with modern viewers’ sensibilities. “Sometimes the clickbait, it’s too much,” Foss mused, noting how major publications jumped on the story.

While the incident may seem minor to some, the outcry highlights a recurring debate on the treatment of women in media—where even century-old lines can echo in ways not intended. Foss and Cohen agreed to take feedback seriously but emphasized that Jeopardy! will continue to honor literary and cultural references while adapting to the times.