‘Jeopardy’ Alumni Demand Apology for Competitor’s “Racist Dog Whistle”

Jeopardy contestants are joining the outcry over competitor Kelly Donohue’s controversial hand gesture on Tuesday’s episode. Donohue, who appeared as the returning champion earlier this week, flashed what some viewers suggested was a white power symbol during his introduction, but Donohue later insisted was his number of wins.

At the start of Tuesday’s show, Donohue put his thumb and index finger together with his three fingers out and tapped his palm against his chest, a gesture some viewers equated to the “okay” symbol co-opted by white supremacists.

Jeopardy producers have stayed silent on the matter, but a group of over 450 former Jeopardy competitors signed an open letter posted to Medium calling for a public apology from Donohue for his gesture, which they described as “a racist dog whistle,” and a response from Jeopardy, Entertainment Weekly reports.

“A recent contestant has caused concern among Jeopardy! viewers for two separate occurrences, and we as former contestants feel the need to speak out against the messaging that these choices communicated — either intentionally or unintentionally — by the contestant Kelly Donohue and, implicitly by association, the producers of Jeopardy!” the letter reads.

The former contestants pointed out that Donohue has not apologized, although he did write in a now-deleted Facebook post that he did not have “a hidden agenda or any malice,” and was counting his victories with the symbol. “If something has been misconstrued, an apology and a total disavowal of any connection to white supremacist doctrines is called for,” the letter states. “We saw that gesture air on television. We are among the public it affected, and we are a diverse group of people.”

The contestants also used the letter to call on the team behind Jeopardy to address Donohue’s on-air gesture now. “Leaving this messaging unchecked will encourage others to attempt similar things in the future. Is the production team of Jeopardy! prepared for more of this? Prepared for more attempts to disguise contempt as innocent gesturing? Prepared for the backlash and ramifications should one of those moments ever become tied to real-world violence?” they asked.

Earlier in the week, Donohue raised concerns with his response to a clue about the Roma people, replying with an answer considered a slur. While host Anderson Cooper addressed the moment on-air, the letter argues that Jeopardy has re-recorded dialogue during similar moments in the past. “This probably would have been a good occasion to employ a similar fix,” the contestants wrote.

“As people whose lives have been largely beneficially impacted by this show and its community, we really hope to see a statement and a disavowal of both of this week’s events, and we would like to see Jeopardy! address Kelly’s behavior,” they added.

Jeopardy has not yet publicly addressed the letter. Decider has reached out for comment, but did not hear back by time of publication.

Read the full letter from former Jeopardy contestants on Medium.

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