This was an unpopular move for Ken Jennings.
“Jeopardy!” viewers were not pleased with the 50-year-old host during a recent episode.
Paul Clauson, a tax analyst from Madison Heights, Mich., returned to the game hoping to extend his one-day earnings of $15,201.
He went up against product manager Jonelle Lonergan from Boston, Mass., and Amy Fleenor, an attorney from Cleveland, Ohio.
Jennings introduced the first batch of categories in the “Jeopardy!” round, which included a special nod to the newly released “Wicked” movie.
The film’s stars, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, introduced the category to the contestants before the project’s director Jon M. Chu read out the answer in a prerecorded video message: “Before I even directed ‘Wicked’, I could envision it up on the big screen.”
“And now, we invite audiences to step inside the magical world of Oz to enjoy this type of nine-letter experience.”
Clauson was the first to take a stab at the clue, guessing “wonderful” — which is nine letters and would allude to the famous catchphrase the “Wonderful Wizard of Oz” from the musical, the book and movie.
Unfortunately, Jennings said it was the wrong answer although it did technically match the criteria.
Lonergan buzzed in next and said: “What is Immersive?” — which was the correct response.
Fans flocked to the internet to express their confusion over the category and their frustration with the host not accepting certain answers.
“I’m tired of these incredibly confusing categories just to plug something like a movie. Really unfair to the contestants who are not technically wrong,” one person wrote, while another fan chimed in, “Is it just me or is that absolutely not pinned at all? What makes Paul’s guess of ‘wonderful’ (as in ‘wonderful wizard’) wrong?”
They added: “What would make my at-home guess of “cinematic” wrong?”
Rounding out the comments, a user said, “Would Cinematic have been accepted? I wasn’t entirely sure what they were aiming for.”
One viewer said it was “wickedly upsetting” of Jennings to not to accept Clauson’s answer, which they believed would actually “make more sense” than the winning response.
Heading into Final Jeopardy!, the tax analyst had $21,200, which was far ahead of Lonergan with $8,000 and Fleenor’s $6,800.
The category was “AMERICAN WOMEN” and the contestants placed their wagers.
“In 1900 she told a Mr. Dobson, ‘Get out of the way. I don’t want to strike you, but I am going to break up this den of vice,’” Jennings read.
“Who was Carrie Nation?” was the correct question, with only Lonergan buzzing in right. Her total was raised to $15,999, but she didn’t earn enough to surpass Clauson’s strategy.
He risked only $1, dropping to $21,099 for a two-day total of $36,300.
“Wicked” is in theaters now.
