'Jeopardy!' Fans Upset Over Mispronunciation Ruling

On Jeopardy!, a contestant can technically know what the right response could be. However, the wrong pronunciation could still cost them the win. This happened on a recent episode of the game show, all concerning a certain dog breed, and fans are upset about it.

A Dog Breed Became A Subject Of Debate For Jeopardy! Fans

On an episode that aired this past Thursday, contestant Will Wallace landed on the Double Jeopardy. The category was “Photographers and their Craft,” with a clue worth $1,600.

The clue read “William Wegman’s claim to fame—whimsical portraits of this dog breed that also starts with ‘W.'” The correct answer was “Weimaraner.”

Will Wallace - YouTube — Will Wallace – YouTube

A painter and a photographer, Wegman is known for featuring his dogs in various costumes. In pop culture, he is also known for his dogs’ appearances on various segments on Sesame Street.

Wallace seemed to be in the ballpark with his answer. However, his pronunciation was closer to “Weimareiner.”

Host Ken Jennings didn’t accept the answer, saying “Mmm. No, won’t take that.” Ultimately, the answer was ruled incorrect.

Wallace’s answer might not have been accepted, but not everyone agreed with the decision. Many fans came to his defense on social media.

As noted by Newsweek, one social media user suggested that Wallace’s pronunciation wasn’t that uncommon. As they wrote, “Everyone says ‘Weimaraner’ the way Will did! I call foul Jeopardy!” Another wrote, “Pretty sure I was screaming Weimaraner the same way Will said it.”

Will Wallace Still Had His Happy Ending

One user even pointed out there’s probably different ways to pronounce it: “Jeopardy! penalized this man for incorrectly saying ‘Weimaraner.’ You can ask five different people to say the breed and they are all going to say it differently.”

Another user shared that the dog breed’s pronunciation wasn’t even agreed upon in their own household. As they wrote, “Funny. Hubs always complains about how Americans botch word pronunciations. I pronounced ‘Weimaraner’ just like the Jeopardy player did. Finally, Ken backed my husband’s pronunciation and didn’t let the mispronunciation slide, much to his relief. Lol.”

While Wallace’s answer didn’t get accepted, he still got the last laugh by the end of the show. He was the show’s winner, with a total of $26,799. Following him were Dan Meyer, who earned $8,200, and Kiki Jamieson, who ended the night with $5,119.

The Final Jeopardy clue was in the “On the U.K. Music Charts” category. It read: “‘Candle in the Wind’ knocked this song that asked a title question from the top spot as the U.K.’s all-time bestselling song.”

The correct answer was “Do They Know it’s Christmas.” Of the three, Wallace was also the only contestant to give the right response.

Did you see Wallace’s Jeopardy! win? How do you pronounce “Weimaraner?” Make sure you come back to TV Shows Ace for all the latest TV and celebrity news.