“Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings sparked on-line debate Thursday after utilizing sarcasm to dismiss calls from transgender activists to boycott The New York Occasions’ phrase video games.
Jennings sarcastically claimed he acquired “categorical permission from the trans group” to maintain his video games subscription, taking goal at calls for that readers boycott all New York Occasions merchandise.
The joke has since sparked pushback from transgender activists on-line, who accused him of trivializing their considerations.
The change started on the social media platform Bluesky, the place Jennings posted screenshots of the New York Occasions’ sport Spelling Bee.
He wrote, “My spouse and I’ve a sport the place we attempt to invent the day’s grossest-sounding phrase on NYT Spelling Bee.”
In response, a person on the platform reposted his remark, saying, “I want individuals who care about trans folks may perceive that enjoying nyt video games continues to be an insult to trans folks.”
In response to the person’s remark, Jennings replied, “This can be true of others however I truly acquired categorical permission from the trans group to maintain NYT video games and recipes. I even have a information subscription, which is arguably worse, so I needed to particularly ship in a written request. Took 30 days however I acquired authorized.”
Jennings added, “They had been like ‘Trans persons are not a monolith’ and ‘Like-minded allies might disagree on particular media boycotts’ and stuff like that. It was an enormous load off my thoughts!”
The person responded, “I used to be being honest and critical, however thanks for turning it right into a joke. that feels nice.” On Friday, the person famous that Jennings had not contacted them since and made “no effort to apologize or acknowledge that he was an a–gap about trans folks. No classes realized it appears. I used to be actually hoping for some signal he understood why persons are so upset.”
Within the replies, some Bluesky commenters advised Jennings to “learn the f—ing room” and known as his response “dismissive.”
Others commented on his unique put up and questioned whether or not he was going to apologize for the remark.
Journalist and “Blocked and Reported” podcast co-host Jesse Singal, who typically reviews on web tradition, advised Fox Information Digital that the outrage displays the platform itself slightly than on a regular basis sentiment.
“I’m guessing the typical trans individual is orders of magnitude extra more likely to play NYT video games than to get mad at others for doing so,” he stated. “Bluesky, like all hyperpartisan social-media platforms, tends to pay attention customers with extraordinarily sturdy and inflexible views in the identical place, at which level sure ugly pressure-cooker dynamics set in, inflicting normies to flee for his or her sanity and abandoning a bunch of addled internet-radicals engaged in a determined sport of rhetorical oneupmanship (there aren’t any winners),”
“You see an analogous dynamic amongst sure right-wingers on X, actually, the place the craziest stuff naturally facilities not on left-coded considerations like trans rights however on right-coded ones like immigration,” Singal added.
For a number of years, transgender activists have spoken out in opposition to The New York Occasions over what they’ve described as anti-trans protection, arguing that internet visitors and subscriptions to merchandise like its video games financially assist the outlet.
In 2023, lots of of New York Occasions contributors, together with hundreds of subscribers, signed an open letter to the paper condemning its protection of transgender points.
The LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD additionally despatched a letter, calling out “irresponsible, biased protection of transgender folks.”
Jennings has beforehand voiced assist for transgender rights, even taking to Bluesky in July 2025 to name out California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stance on transgender youth, after Newsom said he did not suppose it was truthful for transgender athletes to compete in ladies’ sports activities.
Responding to a person who stated he would “by no means, ever” vote for Newsom, Jennings wrote, “That is appropriate. Any candidate cynically ‘triangulating’ on trans youngsters is a non-starter, and now’s the time to say so. There’s nonetheless a lot time to advance candidates that DON’T suck.”
Fox Information Digital reached out to Jennings for remark however didn’t instantly obtain a response.
