“Celebrity Jeopardy!” is facing criticism for an “insensitive” clue involving Brian Laundrie’s confessed killing of Gabby Petito and his subsequent suicide.
(Watch the video below.)
On Sunday’s episode, host Mayim Bialik read out the clue: “In 2021 fugitive Brian Laundrie ended his days in Fla.’s Myakkahatchee Creek area, home to these long & toothy critters.”
“What are alligators?” “Fire Island” star Joel Kim Booster answered correctly.
The show’s decision to link a clue about alligators to the high-profile case rankled viewers.
“I was mortified to be watching Jeopardy and ... they asked a casual question about alligators referencing Brian Laundrie! Oh Mayim. Oh Jeopardy! What incredibly poor taste,” one viewer wrote.
“Y’all couldn’t have gotten to alligator AAAAAANY other way????” another observed.
“So unnecessarily morbid. Could have said anything related to Florida and gotten there,” an irked viewer chimed in. Another expressed a similar sentiment: “That Brian Laundrie prompt was disgusting and insensitive. There really wasn’t a better prompt for the word ‘alligator’????”
It’s been an eventful week for the game show franchise. Bialik’s counterpart, Ken Jennings, recently grabbed attention by blurting out “oh, shit!” for accidentally giving away an answer in an exhibition game during the Tournament of Champions.
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
If you or someone you know needs help, dial 988 or call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. You can also get support via text by visiting suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention for a database of resources.