A group of more than 500 former Jeopardy! players have demanded an apology from the show’s producers for not catching a winner allegedly flashing a white power hand gesture.
The open letter, posted on Medium on Wednesday (28 April), said: “A recent contestant has caused concern among Jeopardy! viewers for two separate occurrences, and we, as former contestants, feel the need to speak out against the messaging that these choices communicated – either intentionally or unintentionally – by the contestant Kelly Donohue and, implicitly by association, the producers of Jeopardy!”
On Tuesday, Donohue “held his thumb and forefinger together with his other three fingers extended and palm facing inward, and he tapped his chest”, claims the letter.
Donohue defended himself in a since-deleted Facebook post, saying he was indicating that he’d won three games, and had gestured with one finger and two fingers to indicate previous wins.
There were also complaints that Donohue used a slur against the Roma people when responding to a clue on the show.
Jeopardy! representatives have not yet issued a comment in response to the letter.
