‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Aaron Craig Shamed By Fans For Bad Sportsmanship

On a recent episode of Jeopardy!, contestant Aaron Craig won the Champions Wildcard tournament. 

Upon being named the winner, Craig blew the audience a kiss and began to clap for himself.

Many viewers across the internet have expressed their distaste for Craig’s behavior.

One person complained on Reddit, “I’ve watched Jeopardy for decades and don’t recall seeing such rudeness.” Another added, “The clapping at the end was unnecessary.”

Someone jumped to Craig’s defense and wrote, “Heaven forbid a contestant have enough situational awareness to understand the importance of that clue and celebrate a little when he beat out two tough competitors to it.”

Another fan responded in disagreement, “Sorry, we’ve seen this happen in dozens, if not hundreds of similar situations, and I can’t think of anyone ever reacting like that. It’s just poor sportsmanship.” 

One of Craig’s former supporters wrote, “That was unsportsmanlike and disrespectful to the other contestants. It was also very cringe. Self praise is no praise…I liked Aaron and was rooting for him but after that, I’m not rooting for him anymore.”

The final Jeopardy clue, in the category of “British History,” was presented: “In March 2015, at Leicester Cathedral, the Archbishop of Canterbury presided over a religious ceremony honoring this deceased English monarch.”

In second place was Leah Wiegand, who bet all of her $4,400 winnings, and answered incorrectly with “Who is Prince Philip?”

In third place was T.J. Tallie, with $4,200, who answered incorrectly. He had also bet all of his winnings.

Craig was in first place with $9,800 but had just written down a question mark. The correct answer was Richard III, a king in the 15th century. Craig had bet $32 and was left with $9,768.

Later, in response to the criticism, a Reddit user who claimed to be Craig apologized.

“TJ and Leah are amazing and lovely and brilliant, and either one would have been a great and deserving winner today…I’m sorry if I got overly excited,” he wrote. “I certainly didn’t mean to show anybody up, but my kids were there and I couldn’t believe that they got to watch me not just play in a semifinal, but win! Anyone who thinks I was over the top, that’s 1000% fair. No argument here.”