Ken Jennings, host of “Jeopardy!”, stirred online debates after making a sarcastic remark regarding the calls from transgender activists to boycott The New York Times’ word games. Jennings humorously claimed he had ‘express permission from the trans community’ to continue his subscription, directly addressing the push for readers to boycott all New York Times products. His joke received backlash from transgender activists who argued that he was trivializing their issues.
The conversation began on the social media platform Bluesky, where Jennings shared screenshots from the New York Times’ game Spelling Bee. In his post, he wrote, “My wife and I have a game where we try to invent the day’s grossest-sounding word on NYT Spelling Bee.” A user responded by criticizing his involvement with the New York Times, suggesting that anyone supporting trans people should refrain from playing the paper’s games. Jennings replied with sarcasm, claiming he had obtained ‘written permission’ from the trans community to continue his games and recipes subscriptions.
The user was offended by Jennings’ response and indicated a lack of apology or acknowledgment of the issue at hand. Despite some commenters urging Jennings to reflect on the criticism, others debated the criticism’s severity.
Journalist Jesse Singal commented on the issue, noting that such outrage might stem more from the platform’s nature than general public sentiment. Singal remarked that platforms like Bluesky and others often concentrate users with intense views, creating isolated pressure-cooker environments leading to exaggerated reactions.
Criticism of The New York Times by transgender activists is not new. They claim the paper has consistently presented biased coverage of transgender issues. In 2023, a significant number of contributors and subscribers criticized the outlet’s coverage through an open letter. The advocacy group GLAAD also condemned the paper’s approach in a similar letter.
Despite his recent sarcastic remarks, Jennings has expressed support for transgender rights previously. In July 2025, he critiqued California Governor Gavin Newsom for his stance on transgender athletes in sports, advocating for candidates more supportive of trans rights.