‘Jeopardy!’ sparks outrage with ‘neopronouns’ question: never existed when ‘Alex Trebek was still alive’

Jack Hobbs
·2 min read
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I’ll take outraged fans for $1,000.

Several “Jeopardy!” viewers are up in arms after the game show included a gender-related question during Monday’s “Tournament of Champions” quarterfinal.

The question took center stage during the show’s second round when contestant Cris Pannullo selected the $600 clue in the category titled, “Speech! Parts of Speech!”

Several “Jeopardy!” viewers are up in arms after the fabled games show included a gender-related question during Monday’s “Tournament of Champions” quarterfinal. ABC/Christopher Willard
Several “Jeopardy!” viewers are up in arms after the fabled games show included a gender-related question during Monday’s “Tournament of Champions” quarterfinal. ABC/Christopher Willard

“Xem, Xyrs, Xemself,” read the clue, to which Pannullo responded: “What are pronouns?”

“Those are pronouns,” host Ken Jennings responded. “Neopronouns.”

The question and subsequent answer sparked a backlash online, with many X (formerly Twitter) users claiming they would quit watching the show.

“Jeopardy asked about xem/xyrs/xemself ‘pronouns’ during last night’s show,” one account posted. “How would you answer this?”

“I still watch Jeopardy every day but their questions and answers keep getting weirder and weirder,” a second angry fan wrote. “When Alex Trebek was still alive we never had any of this.”

“I will NEVER watch Jeopardy after this. After Alex, it all went downhill,” another person sneered.

The Post reached out to “Jeopardy!” for comment.

The controversial question took center stage during the show’s second round when contestant Cris Pannullo selected the $600 clue in the category called “Speech! Parts of Speech!”
The controversial question took center stage during the show’s second round when contestant Cris Pannullo selected the $600 clue in the category called “Speech! Parts of Speech!”

According to Medical News Today, neopronouns are defined as “a group of pronouns that fall outside these more common pronouns.”

While the usual pronouns of “He,” “She” or even “They” are used to describe whether someone is masculine or feminine, the use of neopronouns may “express a person’s identity in a way that is less tied to these concepts” and “involve objects or ideas that an individual feels a strong connection to.”

Some examples of neopronouns include “xe, xem, xyr,” “ze, zir, zie” and “fae, faer.”

Earlier this month, “Jeopardy!” again made headlines when a question that combined geography and math tripped up contestants.

“Xem, Xyrs, Xemself,” read the clue to which Pannullo responded, “What are pronouns?”
“Xem, Xyrs, Xemself,” read the clue to which Pannullo responded, “What are pronouns?”

On the Feb. 15 episode, the Final Jeopardy clue was in the category “Landmarks.”

“The distance between its 2 legs at ground level is 630 feet, making it as wide as it is tall,” the prompt read.

Contestants Diandra D’Alessio and David Bederman guessed the Eiffel Tower, while James Tyler wrote Christ the Redeemer. All three were wrong.

The answer was the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.

“You can actually inscribe the arch in a square,” host Ken Jennings said at the time.

Audiences ultimately thought the clue was unnecessarily tricky.

“I’m guessing ‘legs’ is just a very unusual way to describe what they meant? It’s not the first word I’d use — ‘ends’ maybe? ‘Supports?’ Definitely a little tricky by the writers, but for tournament play, it seems fair,” one viewer wrote.