A Newtown middle school student who misspelled the correct answer to a "Jeopardy!" question claims he was cheated of the money he lost.
Eigth-grader Thomas Hurley III, 12, answered Emancipation Proclamation signed by President Abraham Lincoln, the correct answer to the Final Jeopardy question. However, Hurley spelled it "emanciptation" and host Alex Trebek told the boy judges ruled out the answer.
Hurley bet $3,000 of his $9,600 in winnings and behind his rival whose total was $66,600.
"I was pretty upset that I was cheated out of the final 'Jeopardy!' question," Hurley told The News-Times of Danbury. "It was just a spelling error."
The Newtown Middle School student won $2,000 as the runner-up.
Trebek's response angered Hurley's family, as well as fans of the show, who took to "Jeopardy!" Facebook page to voice their outrage.
"It's generated a little bit of controversy," Hurley's mother, Suzanne, told the News-Times. "He was a little stunned by it. He felt embarrassed. It was hard to watch.''
Producers of Jeopardy! defended Trebek's decision in an email to Fox News:
"If 'Jeopardy!' were to give credit for an incorrect response (however minor), the show would effectively penalize the other players. We love presenting young people as contestants on our show and make every effort to be fair and consistent in their treatment."
Susan Jackson, of Wingdale, N.Y., commented on the Jeopardy! Facebook page and notified the News-Times about the story.
"Alex didn't need to insult this kid's spelling, and many people feel that Thomas is owed an apology,'' Jackson told the News-Times. "It didn't change the nature of the answer, as it would in say 'dessert vs. desert' since we all knew what the kid was trying to say...'Jeopardy!' has never really discounted answers because of adults' misspellings."
The Kids Jeopardy! program was filmed in February and aired last week.
