An episode of “Jeopardy!” that aired November 13, 2024, stirred viewer discontent due to a controversial decision made during the Final Jeopardy! round.
The contestants were Joey DeSena, a development engineer from Raleigh, North Carolina, who had won two games for a total of $44,698; Lois Dioro, a realtor from West Haven, Connecticut; and Evan Dorey, a data analytics director from Toronto, Ontario.
The Final Jeopardy! category, “POETRY & PLACES,” required contestants to identify the geographic word in a Robert Burns poem with the clue, “It’s the geographic word in the title of a Robert Burns poem about ‘the mountains…covered with snow…the straths & green valleys below.” The correct response was “Highlands.”
While DeSena’s response, “Moor??? It was fun!” left him with just $199, ending his winning run, Dorey’s answer of “Highland” was accepted, despite its singular form, doubling his score to $29,200. Host Ken Jennings confirmed the correct poem title as “My Heart’s in the Highlands.” Dioro, who answered “Scotland,” fell to $12,000, making Dorey the new champion.
Many viewers reacted strongly to this decision, taking to social media to question why the judges allowed a singular form of the correct plural title.
Several fans pointed out this inconsistency, questioning why a singular response was accepted while an incomplete plural response was not. Some were under the impression that if a response was a title word, it should match exactly, not be an altered version.
The controversy revolves around the show’s rules for accepting singular versus plural forms in responses. In this case, the judges deemed “Highland” acceptable, even though the poem’s title is “My Heart’s in the Highlands.”
This decision has sparked a wider dialogue among viewers about the show’s consistency in adjudication. For example, in October 2024, contestant Eamonn Campbell was denied points for mispronouncing “anesthesiologist,” while another contestant, Dot White, received points for properly pronouncing the same word. This led to a split among fans, with some criticizing the host for being overly strict and others supporting the importance of correct pronunciation.
In a similar vein, in July 2024, contestant Kelly Proulx answered “Bridalveil Falls” instead of the correct “Bridalveil Fall” and was deemed incorrect due to the added “s.” This resulted in her losing the necessary points to win Final Jeopardy!. Many fans called the decision overly meticulous and unfair.
These episodes underscore the challenge faced by Jeopardy! in ensuring consistency in its rulings, particularly when it comes to singular versus plural forms and pronunciation.
