'Jeopardy!' season 38 champion Lawrence Long was eliminated after a 'tough' ruling
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"Jeopardy!" fans continue to buzz over a controversial ruling made by Ken Jennings on the beloved game show.
During last week’s episode, a former champion missed out on winning Final Jeopardy! after giving an incorrect answer.
"Jeopardy!" producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss weighed in on the clue that left fans disappointed after season 38 champion Lawrence Long was eliminated.
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‘Jeopardy!’ producer weighs in on controversial ruling made by Ken Jennings: ‘Tough break’ (Jeopardy!/YouTube)
The final "Jeopardy!" category was "Royalty," and the clue read: "Before his death in 2005, he said he was ‘probably the last head of state to be able to recognize all his compatriots in the street.'"
Although Prince Rainer III of Monaco was the correct answer, contestant Long incorrectly wrote "King Rainer."
Jennings then told Lawrence his answer was wrong, "Lawrence, I think you’re thinking of the right guy. Unfortunately, Monaco does not have kings, so we cannot accept that."
"Jeopardy!" producer Foss addressed the ruling during an episode of the "Inside Jeopardy!" podcast.
"We stopped down taping," Foss said. "We were looking for any reference . . . [to] a ‘King Rainier’' . . .to start backing up a case for why it could also be accepted, but we couldn’t find anything."
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A former champion missed out on winning Final Jeopardy! after giving an incorrect answer. (Jeopardy!/YouTube)
She added, "That was the hardest part when Lawrence said, ‘So if I had just said Rainier, would I have been marked correct?"
Passionate "Jeopardy!" fans reacted in the comments section on the show’s YouTube account.
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"Tough break for Lawrence. That mistake cost him, at least, $15,000," one fan wrote.
Another comment read, "I feel bad for Lawrence, and this was a little hard for me to watch."
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Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik are "Jeopardy!" co-hosts. (Christopher Willard/ABC via Getty Images/Tyler Golden/ABC via Getty Images)
Others agreed with the ruling that Lawrence was incorrect, "King Rainier sounds wrong. King and Rainier don't go together at all."
Former Tournament of Champions winner Buzzy Cohen joined Foss during the "Inside Jeopardy!" podcast and shared his insight on the game show controversy.
"It’s a tough ruling . . . it’s the right ruling," Cohen noted. "Everyone wants, when someone’s in the spirit of the right answer, we want to give it to them, but rules are rules."
Stephanie Giang-Paunon is an Entertainment Writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to
