Fans of “Jeopardy!” are slamming the long-running game show after all three contestants correctly responded to a $1,600 clue but lost big because they mispronounced Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s name.
It turns out, Russian names don’t exactly roll off the tongues of most Americans — as proven on Monday’s episode of the show..
The controversy started after contestant Sami Casanova picked one of the priciest clues from a category called “The Quotable Alex.”
Host Mayim Bialik replied: “An author and former prisoner: ‘Socialism of any type and shade leads to a total destruction of the human spirit.’”
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Contestant Juveria Zaheer buzzed in first with the correct answer, which was Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
But when Zaheer struggled to pronounce his last name correctly, she lost. Casanova came close to saying “Solzhenitsyn” but was given a firm “no” after bungling the pronunciation. Returning champion Hannah Wilson gave the name a try but failed as well.
Bialik then told all three women that no one said it correctly.
“This is a tricky one to pronounce,” Bialik admitted before saying the name accurately.
The decision to fail the three contestants didn’t sit well with fans of the show, who rushed to express their disappointment on Twitter.
Watch the video and some of the reactions below.
If you're not going to accept anyone's attempt to pronounce Solzhenitsyn, don't write a clue about him. 🤷 #Jeopardy
— Pasha Paterson (@zer0bandwidth) May 8, 2023
C'mon @missmayim and @Jeopardy, those ladies all did a good enough pronunciation of Solzhenitsyn to get the $$.
— Lisa Binzel (@lb64) May 8, 2023
Solzhenitsyn. I get it’s hard to say but one of them was fairly close. Of all the names to be strict on….🤦🏻 #Jeopardy
— Robin J Richards (@RobinJRichards) May 8, 2023
Even with weeks of practice, I don't think I can properly pronunciate "Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn" and I think #Jeopardy needs to loosen the standards. It is getting ridiculous
— Michael Scibetta (@mscibetta) May 10, 2023
@Jeopardy the insistence on pronunciation ignores those who have read extensively but not heard the word out loud. Clearly all three contestants knew the answer but couldn't properly say Solzhenitsyn like a Russian native.
— Killer Queen 🐈⬛🎃🧙♀️ (@Lili_Lightly) May 8, 2023
