Former Jeopardy! champion Kristin Sausville has called out the false claims that a recent contestant broke a record on the show this week.
Jason Singer was crowned winner on Tuesday – four years after his wife, Susan McMillan, also achieved the same victory.
It was initially reported on the internet that the pair made the special milestone of being the first couple to both be champions on the hit game show. But it was soon revealed the record had already been broken years earlier.
Kristin – who won back in 2015 – jumped to her Facebook page on Wednesday to remind fans that her husband Justin had also been a champion before her.
However, she then pointed out that another couple – Dan Pawson and Andrea Saenz – had first broken the record. Pawson won in 2007 and Saenz three years later.
Singer has since broken his silence on the incident to issue an apology and said that he feels ‘terribly’ over the mistake.
Former Jeopardy! champion Kristin Sausville has called out the false claims that recent contestant Jason Singer (seen above) broke a record on the show this week
It was initially reported on the internet that the pair made the special milestone of being the first couple to both be champions on the hit game show. But it was soon revealed the record had already been broken years earlier; Kristin seen above in 2015
In a lengthy post on Facebook, Sausville corrected the matter while also voicing concerns over AI and ChatGPT.
‘There is something really surreal and honestly kind of sinister in watching part of yourself be erased in real time,’ she began.
‘Maybe you’ve seen an article in the past day or two about how one of the Jeopardy! contestants last night had a wife who was a J! champion, and was hoping he would win so they could be the first married champions in J! history.’
Kristin added, ‘Well. If you’re friends with me, you’re probably aware that both Justin and I won; Justin in 2011 and me in 2015. But we weren’t even the first. As far as I’ve been able to research, Dan Pawson and Andrea Saenz were the first.’
She explained that there had been a number of other couples that had been champions before Singer as well.
The former Jeopardy! winner called out the lack of accuracy and said, ‘Now that the bots have the story, it would be impossible to correct them all even if I cared enough to take the time to do so.’
Sausville concluded that she is ‘really bothered by seeing how quickly misinformation can be spread and accepted as truth. We should keep that in mind for everything we see online and particularly via AI.’
And on Thursday, Jason Singer apologized after it was falsely believed both he and his wife had broken the record.
However, she then pointed out that another couple – Dan Pawson and Andrea Saenz – had first broken the record. Pawson won in 2007 and Saenz three years later
And on Thursday, Jason Singer apologized after it was falsely believed both he and his wife had broken the record
He told Entertainment Weekly: ‘After I heard from other players via Facebook that there had been a handful of previously married champions, I felt terribly.
‘We always told media and other people it was anecdotal and that ‘Jeopardy!’ didn’t track that stat.’
Singer added that he respects the show as well as the contestants ‘and would never want to hurt them or diminish their accomplishments in any way. On both of those fronts, I obviously came up short here.’
Jason said that champions such as Kristen and previous couple winners ‘deserve all the plaudits in the world because winning on ‘Jeopardy!’ means you’re an interesting, curious, engaged human who’s worked really hard and performed incredibly under a lot of pressure.’
Singer then shared he has made the clarifications to outlets and personally reached out to Sausville.
‘I sincerely hope one day there’s a Couples Tournament for all couples who have succeeded on Jeopardy, so she and others have a chance to go back on and get even more plaudits, recognition and even more chances to show off their amazing mind.’
He finished his statement with, ‘I feel really grateful to be a tiny part of such a special, loving and brilliant community, and I hope that by apologizing and trying to correct the record, I’ve taken a small step toward healing anyone I hurt.’
Singer added that he respects the show as well as the contestants ‘and would never want to hurt them or diminish their accomplishments in any way. On both of those fronts, I obviously came up short here’
Singer became one of the champions on the game show on Tuesday and reflected on the win, per WMUR ABC.
The contestant said, ‘To do something that my wife did and share this accomplishment with her is really cool.’
McMillan also shared her excitement by adding, ‘I had such an amazing experience. And so I was really glad that Jason got to share in that, too. And I’m so proud of him.’
And on Wednesday, the pair appeared in a joint interview on Good Morning America to open up about Singer’s win this week.
The NBC game show is currently airing its 41st season on the network – and is being hosted by Ken Jennings (seen above)
In regards to advice that she gave her husband, Susan said, ‘I told him he really needs to be on point with the buzzer timing. Everyone there knows pretty much all the information.’
Jason also gave a sweet shout out to his wife and past contestant.
‘Just the fact of being her husband is the greatest preparation one could ever get, because she’s so curious and surrounds herself with such interesting and cosmopolitan things all the time that by osmosis, I almost had to get better.’
The NBC game show is currently airing its 41st season on the network – and is being hosted by Ken Jennings.
