'Jeopardy' contestant's disturbing response to 'puberty' question had everyone weirded out

Pressure can be a powerful motivator but it can also cloud a person's thought process leading to rash decisions. One can only imagine the kind of pressure the contestants on game shows like 'Price is Right' and 'Jeopardy' feel when they appear on TV. In one such moment, back in 2015, the contestant didn't think twice before blurting out a creepy answer to the question, "In common law, the age of this, signaling adulthood, is presumed to be 14 in boys and 12 in girls."

Responding to a question about puberty, the contestant Tom said, "What is the age of consent?" The answer stumped Alex Trebek who simply said "No" and carried on to reveal the correct answer that was, "What is puberty?" The age of consent in the U.S. varied between the ages of 16 and 18 depending on the state, hence the implication by the contestant's answer that 12 and 14 could be the age of consent, was deemed creepy.

Many took to the comment section of the clip which was later posted on X by @BaileyCarlin. "I know my guy was dreading his own Jeopardy episode coming out," the user wrote in the comment section. "Imagine having that on your soul forever. Yikes," wrote another user @DaveNJ1010. @MattAlban4 defended the contestant and wrote, "I might have made the same mistake, folks. SERIOUSLY. It DOES make sense."

There have been several incidents when problematic things have been said on the game shows. Another such incident made headlines when a clue that was given on Jeopardy turned out to be sexist and hard to overlook. One contestant named Heather Ryan who appeared on the show, later spoke out on the clue and said how it made her as well as the audience uncomfortable. The whole incident later led to Ken Jennings apologizing for the misogynistic clue regarding "girls wearing glasses."

In the show, the three contestants were given a question from the "Complete the Rhyming Phrase” category for which the clue read, "Men seldom make passes at." The first part of the sentence already implied that the sentence was sexist and the latter half confirmed that it really was, as the correct answer was "girls who wear glasses."

Coincidentally, Heather was the only woman who was on stage and was also wearing glasses. Upon realizing the mistake, Ken Jennings and the game’s winner, Wallace swiftly apologized to everyone. He also went on to call the clue "little problematic." Viewers later accused the show of being insensitive as the clue wasn't flagged before it made it to the show.

Heather later said that apart from the clue, she did have a good time on the show. “I had a great time. Everybody there was very welcoming," she told Binghamton University student publication. Commenting on it online, many talked about how the host was not at fault and should not have to apologize for somebody else's mistake. "Why does he need to apologize? The host doesn't pick the clues and her wearing glasses isn't the reason she's on the show," @trexpanda wrote. "Putting aside if it was sexist or whether people should be angry, it was clearly awkward and understandably made a contestant feel uncomfortable. I guess things slip though sometimes, but clearly, the screening process broke down here.," @emhutchi added.