Jeopardy! contestant Charlotte Diffendale wore an outrageous dress that, despite her defeat, went viral online.
She received a request from the game show to wear her $669 fish-clasped jacket to work as a UPS worker after her segment aired because it was so popular.
Melissa Klapper, the two-day champion, competed against Charlotte, an Albany, New York, mail carrier, and Brandon Anderson, an Ohio communications director.
Melissa from Merion Station, Pennsylvania won with a two-day total of $42,400, but Jeopardy! viewers and social media users agreed that Charlotte’s costume was the star.
An observant admirer discovered the striking red suit jacket online. It was made in Spain and featured brass-coated fish lining the buttons.
She spent everything on a Daily Double by saying, “let it ride,” using the royal statement item as a justification for her lack of confidence and as a good fit with her strategy.
Charlotte put up a solid performance but finally fell short and was ousted from the game. She entered Final Jeopardy! with $14K but lost $8.8K on an incomplete response.
Fans observed that her red blazer was the actual winner of the evening because it caused so much talk.
“I’m digging Charlotte’s jacket #Jeopardy” one Twitter user wrote.
“What in the Greatest Showman is happening here” joked another.
“This one lady on Jeopardy tonight looks like she’s dressed to be on the cover of the Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s album,” tore a third.
A fourth wrote: “LOL I never even wear red, let alone a bold jacket like the one sported by Charlotte, but I have to say, she certainly has a nice spin on the power suit.”
“I actually thought she wore it well. Interesting choice!” gushed a fifth as a sixth social media user wrote: “She’s smart! I kinda like that look on her!”
“I really loved that jacket kinda reminded me of Freddie Mercury’s yellow jacket at live Aid she was a great player” praised one more.
Another Twitter fan spotted that the outfit was a “Sartorial homage to letter carriers of the Royal Mail during the reign of Queen Charlotte” – so it was quite a clever reference too as she is a UPS driver.
Then, while on her mail route from her truck, Charlotte tweeted a selfie with sunglasses, a UPS cap, and the trending blazer after her episode aired.
She wrote: “The whole @Jeopardy crew is so warm and supportive.
“When I got offstage (still stinging a little) one of the awesome contestant coordinators told me ‘the day your episode airs you should wear that jacket on your route, and don’t tell anyone why.’ I LOVED IT. SO I DID.”
Several others responded by saying they once again “liked the jacket” and expressed their wish for Charlotte to participate in the Second Chance Tournament of the programme.
Over the summer, it was revealed that Ken Jennings, 48, and Mayim Bialik, 47, would take over as Alex Trebek’s replacements.
Ken will continue to host until April 28. After that, Mayim will take over for the remaining four months of the season, starting on May 1.