Jeopardy! Faces Shocking Scandal About First Married Champions (Producers React To Backlash)

Jeopardy! producers are speaking out after current champion Jason Singer revealed that his wife Susan McMillan also won the show four years ago, and several outlets incorrectly reported that they were the first married couple to achieve this distinction. Jason broke the 13-game one-day curse by winning his second game on June 2. Under his correct Final Jeopardy! answer, he wrote, “#BringBackSusan,” referring to his wife.

Now EW reports that, although some people incorrectly thought that Jason and Susan were the first married couple champions, a Jeopardy! representative told the outlet that the show doesn’t track contestants’ spousal records, and acknowledged that several other champions have been married couples in the past.

In fact, several of those Jeopardy! champions took to social media to correct this misinformation. Kristin Sausville, a five-game champion from 2015 who’s married to fellow winner Justin Sausville, shared a Facebook message in which she blasted media outlets for publishing inaccurate information.

Kristin wrote, “There is something really surreal and honestly kind of sinister in watching part of yourself be erased in real time. Maybe you’ve seen an article in the past day or two about how one of the Jeopardy! contestants last night had a wife who was a J! champion, and was hoping he would win so they could be the first married champions in J! history.”

Kristin went on to say, “Well. If you’re friends with me, you’re probably aware that both Justin and I won; Justin in 2011 and me in 2015.” Kristin also acknowledged that she and Justin weren’t the first married Jeopardy! champions either, noting that Dan Pawson and Andrea Saenz and David Rigsby and Ryan Alley came before her.

Kristin lamented how rapidly wrong information can run rampart on the Internet stating, “I’m sure it’s a matter of weeks before AI like ChatGPT and Google will give you [Singer and McMillan] as the answer to the question, based on the sheer volume of bot activity. It’s really Orwellian to watch how easily it’s happening.”

Kristin concluded by saying that she cared less about her own legacy, and more about keeping information correct online. She wrote, “Like at the end of the day, I’m not all ‘but my LEGACY!’ about it, but I am really bothered by seeing how quickly misinformation can be spread and accepted as truth.”

David Rigsby also weighed in on the subject in a separate post. He wrote, “They are not the first married Jeopardy couple. There have been at least a half-dozen. Simple Internet search would reveal that.”

At first, Jason believed that he and Susan were the first married Jeopardy! couple, but he told the Portland Press Herald that this isn’t true. He said, “It’s anecdotal. Jeopardy! doesn’t track every married couple that’s ever been on, but they’ve written about a bunch on their website. Whether we’re the first, the second, or the first in a long time, I just think it’s a really cool accomplishment.”

What Scandal About Married Champions Means For Jeopardy!

Misinformation Can Spread Quickly On The Internet

This Jeopardy! scandal will most likely blow over in a few days now that the correct information about married champions has been reported, so it really means nothing for the show. However, Kristin is right that it’s disturbing how quickly misinformation can spread online, and how people’s legacies can be erased because of it.

Jason was excited to announce that his wife was a previous Jeopardy! champion, and, when he won, many assumed that they were the first couple to achieve such a goal. Although it wasn’t the case, it’s still exciting for them as a couple. Jason surely didn’t mean to mislead Jeopardy! viewers in any way.

Source: EW