“Jeopardy!” fans got a good reason to celebrate during Trans Awareness Week when transgender woman Amy Schneider became the new “Jeopardy!” champion and ended the five-game win streak of Andrew He.
The engineering manager from Oakland, California, was the only person to answer the “Final Jeopardy!” question correctly. The clue read: “A cemetery on this island has the graves of Robert Fulton and two of the first four Treasury secretaries.”
Although the other two contestants failed to come up with the correct answer, Schneider’s response of “Manhattan” was correct, and she took home a whopping $31,600 dollars for the episode.
‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Wonder If She Is The First Openly Trans Woman To Win On The Trivia Show
Many fans took to Twitter to praise Schneider’s performance. Other fans openly wondered if she was the first openly trans winner to compete on the show.
Schneider took to Twitter to say, “FYI, I am not the first out trans person to appear on Jeopardy (a few friends have asked). There have been a handful before, including one, Kate Freeman, who was the first out trans champion on 12/16/20. My thanks to all of them for blazing the trail!”
After revealing that she had been watching “Jeopardy!” for 30 years and spent another “10+ years” trying to get on, Schneider had nothing but positive things to say about the cast and crew behind the scenes.
“Finally, I can’t emphasize enough how fantastic each and every person on the Jeopardy crew was! It was such a stressful experience, and without them I don’t think I (or any of us!) would have been able to enjoy it as much as we did,” she tweeted. “Thank you!!!”
Some Fans Had Questions About Schneider’s Big ‘Jeopardy!’ Win
Yay! Congratulations to Amy Schneider, transgender jeopardy champion who won during trans awareness week! pic.twitter.com/uWjHpjErgi
— Erin, Trail Mom (@ErinInTheMorn) November 18, 2021
Although many applauded Schneider’s victory, there were a few people who questioned the legitimacy of her win.
“Just wondering if Andrew He , took a fall in order to promote ‘transgender week,’” one fan commented.
“Or this person won on their merit because they are smart,” another clapped back.
“Well done you. I dont get this – why does it matter to some?” another fan wrote. “I know it does to you but does being trans make any difference to how clever you are or how you do your job etc? As far as Im concerned if you can be you and do what you must do then who cares what gener you are or not.”
“i’m trans and it’s incredibly rare for us to win, especially with how there are several laws in place that make it harder for us to exist and prosper,” another countered. “seeing ourselves represented in such a way on public media like this is massive because we’re not used to succeeding.”
The initial poster replied with, “I am so sorry – it shouldnt be like that at all. Like I said, please excuse my ignorance. I try to treat everyone the same and would have hoped, even though I know otherwise, that everyone else would do so too. Rose coloured glasses in my case I guess.”
Although some fans will miss He’s performance, they will be able to see him again in 2022’s Tournament of Champions along with Matt Amodio and Jonathan Fisher.
