While average Americans being questioned in man-on-the-street interviews can be shockingly ignorant, the same cannot be said about "Jeopardy!" contestants, let alone contestants who appear on the show's Tournament of Champions. These people are the cream of the crop, so one would assume they'd be up to speed on current political events. But not so—and their failure to answer what all of you could stunned CNN hosts and "disturbed black Twitter."
During a Nov. 9 episode of the tournament, contestants were given a clue in the "Three-Named People" category.
You all would have been able to answer it in no time, but contestants Amy Schneider, Tyler Rhode, and Maureen O'Neil were clueless.
"She's the first black woman on the Supreme Court and the first justice to have been a federal public defender," the clue said, referring to Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
CNN hosts are PISSED no Jeopardy contestants knew the name of Biden's "history-making" SCOTUS pick pic.twitter.com/b46SSviZu1
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) November 18, 2022
While CNN anchor Kaitlin Collins wasn't all that surprised after playing a clip from the show on the morning program, co-host Don Lemon was stunned.
"These are smart people, though!" Lemon said.
"She was just confirmed, it's been in the news!" added co-host Poppy Harlow.
According to BET, "black Twitter" was "disturbed" by the contestants' ignorance, while The Root said, "for Black people, this is the ultimate form of disrespect."
President Biden vowed to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court if the opportunity presented itself, which it did when former Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement from the bench.
He reportedly made the promise in order to secure Rep. Jim Clyburn's endorsement ahead of the South Carolina primary.