'Jeopardy!' Fans Slam Ken Jennings for Allowing Contestant to Change Answer

Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings has been criticized by a number of the game show's fans after reigning champ Luigi de Guzman was allowed to alter his response to a clue.

During Wednesday night's broadcast of Jeopardy!, which returned for its 39th season on Monday, de Guzman, an attorney from Arlington, Virginia, secured a fourth consecutive win.

While his run has so far proved impressive, de Guzman became the focus of much discussion among viewers when he stumbled over a clue.

Reading out a clue in the category of "Cons," Jennings said as a painting was shown onscreen: "Here's a typical 19th-century landscape by this British painter."

"Who is Constant?" de Guzman erroneously responded.

"Say it again?" Jennings asked, which prompted de Guzman to say, "Sorry, who is Constable?" The response was deemed correct.

A host of incensed Jeopardy! viewers criticized Jennings for accepting de Guzman's response, as they also pointed out that when fellow contestant Harriet Wagner corrected her own response to a clue, she was taken on her first answer.

"Luigi gives wrong answer, Ken asks him what, then gives correct answer. Harriet says wrong first name, then while she begins to correct herself Ken interrupts and rules her incorrect. SO INCONSISTENT and unfair," wrote one viewer on Twitter.

Directly addressing the show's Twitter account, another said: "@Jeopardy you gave Luigi the chance to correct himself when he got Constable wrong & said Constant yet when Harriet said the wrong name for LeGuin & corrected herself you didn't let that slide. Do better & play fair."

Another viewer asked: "Anyone else watch @Jeopardy tonight and think Ken was egregiously inconsistent with his rulings on answers by Luigi and Harriet?

"I'm pissed at @KenJennings because was unfair tonight on @Jeopardy," another commented. "He allows Luigi to correct his mistake, and cut off Harriet as she was correcting her mistake... again favoring Luigi! Very obvious to me!"

Despite the outrage, Jeopardy! states on its website regarding rules that contestants "may change their responses as long as neither the host nor the judges have made a ruling."

"There's no way to prepare for how nerves may affect you when the game is in play," the statement continues. "For instance, have you ever seen a contestant blurt out a response, then give a 'where-did-that-come-from' look? Don't laugh! It happens.

"If you're giving a response and suddenly hear your mouth saying something your brain wasn't planning or forget to phrase your response in the form of a question—you can correct yourself; but you'll have to be quick."

After the episode aired, de Guzman took to Twitter to address retired lawyer Wagner and offer her "two apologies. First, 'Constable.' I knew it was [Constable]. I recognized the painting. In the moment I had this memory of speaking to someone about Constable."

"But in between seeing/remembering/thinking/buzzing/answering, my wires got crossed and I said something like 'Constant,'" he continued. "I saw Ken hesitate, and corrected myself.

"If I had been in Ken's shoes, I probably would have cut Luigi off *brusquely* and moved on. But Ken hesitated, and in the moment, I saw him hesitate, and I kept talking. The rule ended up on my side, but looking at it cold, I see how it could have ended up differently."

Discussing how Wagner had corrected herself when giving a response to another clue during the episode, de Guzman wrote: "Same situation, but Ken didn't hesitate when [Wagner] was speaking. He cut her off. That put her on the other side of the rule, and I got the rebound and a put-back.

"If I'd have been Ken, I'd have either cut both of us off, or hesitated both times. But that wasn't the side of the stage I was on on the day, and it took a great deal of separation in time and space for me to watch it and see it.

"Between myself, [Wagner], and Winston [Li], I think we all played a tight game. To use a sporting analogy, we all played hard right to the whistle.

"I especially want to shout out [Wagner's] grace here. I've pinged her about this, and she has shown me the grace befitting a great litigator. That means a lot to me, and I really appreciate it."

"Luigi, so generous," Wagner responded. "We can't second guess the umpire. Besides, it was MY brain that made me say 'Angela'. I still have no idea where that came from and can only lay that on my own doorstep. $4000 mistake. You're a gentleman."

On Wednesday night's installment of the show, de Guzman defeated Wagner and fellow challenger Winston Li, a clinical assistant professor from Durham, North Carolina. De Guzman will be seen aiming for his fifth consecutive win on Thursday night.

Newsweek reached out to Jeopardy! for comment.