‘Jeopardy!' fans divided after winning contestant's final clue is linked to her famous relative

New York Post

6 hours ago

'Jeopardy!' fans were left divided after a contestant's winning answer had an unexpected tie to her famous ancestor.
On Monday's episode of the long-running NBC game show, one of the three contestants, Emily Croke, answered a question correctly and became champion — after being given a clue by host Ken Jennings referring to an ancestor of hers.
The prompt read: 'In 1895, the Vassar-educated wife of this man wrote, 'Thousands of dollars may be paid for a copy of Shakespeare.''
Croke wrote down the correct answer, 'Folger,' prompting Jennings to ask her about her decision.
3 'Jeopardy!' contestant Emily Croke revealed that her winning answer was a famous relative of hers.
Jeopardy/ABC
She replied that the woman referred to in the clue Jennings gave her had been her 'great, great, great-aunt Emily.'
A stunned Jennings asked the contestant, 'Emily Folger, the one we mentioned in the clue is the person you, Emily Croke, are named after?' in a viral clip shared by the official 'Jeopardy!' Instagram account.
'Yes,' Croke said, nodding several times, to which Jennings responded, 'Wow.'
3 Ken Jennings was left stunned by Croke's answer.
Jeopardy/ABC
Croke ended up winning the game thanks to the final clue, ending her run with a total of $13,201. She is set to return to see if she can continue her winning streak.
Emily Folger, co-founder of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, the world's largest collection of the playwright's works, created the library along with her husband, Standard Oil chairman Henry Clay Folger.
3 The winning clue Croke was shown.
Jeopardy/ABC
Croke's luck was dubbed 'the most amazing coincidence in the history of 'Jeopardy!'' by one commenter on the clip.
'What are the odds of that happening?' a second commenter asked.
'Was in the audience for this one. It truly surprised everyone,' a third wrote.
Others felt the question was unfair on the other contestants.
'How is anyone not a family member supposed to deduce the correct reply? What am I missing?' one wrote.
Another added that it was 'not fair' and said Croke should be 'disqualified.'