“Jeopardy!” fans have called for adjustments to the “Final Jeopardy!” format after a contentious decision to accept what many spectators deemed an unreadable answer from contestant Rishabh Wuppalapati.
On the episode aired October 16, 2024, Wuppalapati, a University of Pennsylvania undergrad from Vernon Hills, Illinois, scribbled what many interpreted as “Cdumlacf” for his “Final Jeopardy!” answer.
The final clue called for the contestants to provide a name common to cities that host two Southeastern Conference schools located in different states. The right answer was “Columbia.”
Host Ken Jennings announced during the show, “He wrote down Fayetteville & changed it to Columbia, and I can read every letter. That is correct.”
Thanks to this decision, Wuppalapati clinched his second consecutive win, accumulating an additional $9,801 and bringing his total prize money to $42,402. His main competitor, Rachel Cassidy, lost a chance to claim the lead when she failed to gamble more on the second Daily Double.
Stirring the pot further, Wuppalapati declared, “I can read every letter,” before the judges revealed their verdict. Some viewers saw this as an attempt to sway the decision.
The decision to accept Wuppalapati’s hastily scribbled answer has faced criticism from fans, some of whom questioned the legibility of his response. One viewer doubted that the writing spelled “Columbia,” but grudgingly accepted the decision as Ken Jennings did. Another viewer concurred, admitting that although the writing was jumbled and could be read as “Cdumlaq,” it embodied the fundamental elements of “Columbia.”
Some pointed out that the final decision was not solely in Jennings’ hands, as judges assess contestant responses in real-time. This incident has spurned demands for a switch from handwritten answers in “Final Jeopardy” to a keyboard format to avoid similar controversies in the future.
Rachel Cassidy, another contestant, stated afterward that there was no backstage debate about accepting Wuppalapati’s answer. Nonetheless, this has not eased viewer concerns about the consistency of judging handwritten responses.
