Another embarrassing blunder has been made by “Jeopardy!”
In the final rounds of the trivia programme on Wednesday’s broadcast, contestant Karen Morris made a poor decision on her bet and suffered a significant loss.
When the other players had earned $7,100 and $6,400, Morris was in the lead with $21,800.
Morris decided to place a large wager ($10,000) during the Double Jeopardy round in an effort to win the game.
“This artist the younger was working on yet another portrait of Henry VIII when he died in 1543,” host Ken Jennings said in giving her the clue, and the veterinary student, head shaking, struggled to come up with an answer before time ran out.
“I’m sorry — Hans Holbein the Younger, the painter,” Jennings said, to which Morris responded in a whisper: “OK.”
When it came to the Final Jeopardy round, the Virginia native only had $11,400 to her name, and the category was “American Novelists.”
The clue: “He served with an airman named Yohannan in World War II, and despite what readers might think, he enjoyed his service.”
The correct answer was “Catch-22” author Joseph Heller, and Jennings underscored the importance of Morris’ forthcoming response, saying, “She had a big lead before tangling with that last Daily Double — she needs to get Heller her.”
Regrettably, Hunter S. Thompson, the “gonzo journalist” well known for “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” received a letter from Morris, who had staked $6,001.
She unceremoniously plummeted to third place and $5,399 with a shrug.
Supporters couldn’t help but mock Morris’ error and avert their virtual eyes.
“Karen Morris might be the dumbest #jeopardy player in history. She had a $14k lead with only $2400 in clues left on the board, and she wagered $10k on a daily double she got wrong LMAO,” a viewer tweeted.
“Welcome to 3rd place and Jeopardy infamy,” added another.
One longtime watcher chimed in: “I’ve watched Jeopardy regularly for 35+ years and can’t remember anything that stupid. #jeopardy.”
Someone else wrote: “This person made worst daily double bet of all time – costing her sure win and putting her in third place. Who is Karen. #Jeopardy.”
Morris, though, is attempting not to let the criticism get to her. She even tweeted in response to her on-air blunder, appearing to make light of it.
She explained on Wednesday, adding a final assessment in a separate post, “Making an appropriate wager requires considering the likelihood of knowing the correct response, which requires assessing your competency in the category, which requires awareness of what the category is, which, at that moment, I DID NOT HAVE.
“Ultimately, I did what I did, and I had THE MOST FUN, and at the end of the day (I’m sorry Mom, I know you hate that phrase) it’s a game, and it’s a show, and it’s a game show,” she wrote.
Morris’ loss was the latest in a string of blunders by the contestants and the show itself.
