A “Jeopardy” Contestant Mispronounced “Gangsta” and It Cost Him $3,200
A contestant on “Jeopardy” named Nick Spicher cost himself $3,200 on Monday’s show, because he pronounced the word “gangsta” as “gang-STER” with hard R. And yes, he happens to be a nerdy white guy with glasses.
The correct answer was “Gangsta’s Paradise Lost”, which combines “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Coolio and the book “Paradise Lost” by John Milton.
He initially won $1,600, but then the judges took it away and docked him another $1,600, since it was now a “wrong” answer. So, it was a $3,200 swing.
The official explanation on the “Jeopardy” website says “gangsta” and “gangster” have separate definitions in the Oxford English Dictionary. And that he, quote, “changed not only the song’s title, but also its meaning, making his response unacceptable.”
Luckily it didn’t cost him the win. He ended up with $15,201 that night and won by about 400 bucks. But he did NOT win again last night.
(For what it’s worth, Coolio says he would’ve given him a pass on the pronunciation. He also teased that white people could also look at this as a good reminder to never use an “ER” at the end of an N-word.)