Jeopardy! viewers furious as contestant knocked out in pronunciation controversy

Jeopardy! viewers were in disbelief as a contestant got knocked out following a controversial ruling over the pronunciation of the word "wagyu".

Meredith Miller missed out on winning big money after host Ken Jennings ruled against her. The labor economist from Arlington, Virginia, was attempting to answer a clue under the 'Some Hats, Some Cattle' category for $1,600.

The clue read: "The name of this cattle breed prized for its marbled beef literally means 'Japanese Cow'." Meredith quickly buzzed in and said: "What is Way-gu," but her answer wasn't accepted as Ken replied: "Mmm, no."

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When none of the other contestants buzzed in, Ken revealed the correct answer, saying: "So close, Meredith. You didn't have a 'Y'. Wagyu." Meredith then dropped into third place with just $400 and finished the show in last place.

Fans were furious and took to X to share their thoughts. "The pronunciation of Wagyu was close call – maybe too close?" one person questioned.

Another viewer said: "I can't believe Jeopardy docked someone for pronouncing 'wagyu' like someone from Iowa; I would have picked up my podium," while a third person posted: "Are you kidding me… No one knows how to pronounce that word and you know what she meant…"

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Over on Reddit, one fan asked: "Does the show encourage or require contestants to do their best to clearly enunciate syllables for this reason? I know sometimes where there is obvious ambiguity over pronunciation, the host will ask the contestant to repeat themselves, but would it be more beneficial for a contestant to not enunciate so clearly?

"I don't mean you should give each response as though you have marbles in your mouth, but speak clearly enough so that your response is understood but not so clearly that the judges can distinguish the difference between what sounds you are speaking?" Former contestant Luigi de Guzman had the answer.

He replied: "In the morning rules briefing, they say something like if you make a good faith effort to pronounce it as it looks like it would sound from how it reads, you should be OK."