Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings calls out anti-trans ‘bigots’ and ‘cowards'

This story originally appeared on Them.

Ken Jennings, who has hosted Jeopardy! since 2021 following the death of Alex Trebek, recently got into a relatively minor back-and-forth on Bluesky with people who claimed his subscriptions to the New York Times were supporting an anti-transgender media organization. And when I say minor, I mean this is fairly lukewarm water.

The vast majority of media-literate trans people would likely agree that the Times’ coverage of our community has been framed and reported in such a biased way that ultra-conservative attorneys often cite it during attempts to roll back our rights. That’s clear to GLAAD, to those who have analyzed the paper’s coverage, and even to hundreds of Times contributors.

But when it comes to the effectiveness of boycotting the entire media organization, or the ethics of still doing the crossword puzzle, I think you’d find opinions are more split. Would I subscribe to the New York Times? No. Would I unfriend someone who did? Not necessarily, because there is still good and important journalism being done there. Do I do the crossword puzzle? Yes, because nothing else quiets the anxiety I feel about living in our current reality quite like trying to find a five-letter word for boredom. Ah, “ennui,” my old friend.

Regardless, various right-wing media latched onto Jennings’ comment this past weekend to paint him in a familiar fashion, as someone who shut down hysterical, overreacting trans activists. So naturally, Jennings, who is a longtime supporter of transgender rights, set the record straight.

“I saw yesterday that some right-wing outlets were running stories about me, which I’m used to. But this time I’m going to say something about it, because these were framed to imply that I was aligned with their own transphobia,” Jennings wrote on August 2. “For the record: NOPE. Honestly, I don’t think there’s an issue today I care about on a personal level more deeply than trans rights. And it’s rough out there right now. Bigots on one side of the political aisle and too many cowards on the other.”

Jennings added, “Anyone who knows me even a little, or has even followed me long on social media, already knows this about me. Our institutions are literally trying to erase trans people right now, and it pisses me off. A snarky reply to one bad take on Bluesky doesn’t mean that’s changed at all.”

Indeed, the Jeopardy! champion has quite a history of speaking up for trans people — in addition, of course, to supporting his fellow champion Amy Schneider. For example, in 2025, when California governor Gavin Newsom, a potential contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, began signaling limitations to his support for trans rights, Jennings was quite vocal.

“Any candidate cynically ‘triangulating’ on trans kids is a non-starter, and now is the time to say so. There’s still so much time to advance candidates that DON’T suck,” he wrote.

And this past Pride month, when Jennings was reposted by a Bluesky account called Trans + Queer Shitposters, another user congratulated him on being “officially recognized” for the designation.

“FINALLY some good news in 2026,” Jennings wrote in response.

To be clear, people are allowed to criticize Jennings if they want to! My opinions on boycotting are not a decree. But I’m glad Jennings took criticism from further left, saw how he was cynically being used by the right, and took the opportunity to simply, clearly, and publicly affirm his support for trans people. This is a man who’s seen by eight million people every night on Jeopardy! calling trans rights his number one issue — and a lot of people with his platform would shy away from doing that in these times.

In the form of a question: What is a coward? Not Ken Jennings.

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