Jeopardy! champ Taylor Clagett loses 2-day run over debatable final clue as fans left divided

JEOPARDY!'s latest big winner Taylor Clagett has fizzled out over a half-correct Final Jeopardy response.

Fans felt the correct answer of “Superstar” was questionable in supposedly referring to both celebrities and astronomy on Tuesday's episode.

Taylor is a marketing director from Chesapeake Beach, Maryland who returned with a two-day total of $31,800 and plenty of buzz from Jeopardy! fans.

Viewers ruled him as both smart and handsome, and as Ken Jennings, 49, remarked, he had the chance to become the first three-day winner in over a month.

Taylor also won over fans with a moving interview story about donating some of his earnings to his late niece, who tragically died of cancer. He was also batting two-for-two on Final Jeopardy.

He faced Julie Sisson, a library circulation assistant from Everett, Washington, and Andrew Knowles, a psychologist resident from Portland, Oregon.

'NO, I'M SORRY'

Final Jeopardy under "COMPOUND WORD ORIGINS" read: “This compound word meant an astronomical object of exceptional brightness in 1910; it was soon applied to actors & athletes.”

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As the 30-second think music played, it was clear Taylor was looking at the clue longer than the other two contestants, already writing.

Andrew - who bizarrely revealed he could lick his elbow - was correct with "Superstar."

Julie was also correct, and Ken said: “For a moment, that’s enough for the lead,” as she rocketed to $11,210.

However, Taylor revealed his guess last; he only wrote “Star.”

He maintained a serious expression as his score plummeted $8722, being ruled incorrect and losing his run.

“No, I’m sorry,” Ken somberly told him and Julie looked thrilled the surprise winner.

FANS DEBATE 'SUPERSTAR' MOMENT

Fans were stunned that Taylor only provided the back end of the compound word.

One wrote on Reddit: “What a disappointing way to see Taylor go out. That Final Jeopardy was way too easy to lose on. I’m sure he was immediately kicking himself.”

"Taylor must’ve misunderstood the category. That's why it's important to fully understand the category before providing a response," wrote another.

A third wrote: "May they overthink it thinking superstar is too obvious?"

A fourth wrote: “It was hard for me to tell whether the judges made the right call not to accept Taylor’s response of star. I disagree because I think both star and superstar are the same thing!!”

To which a fifth rightfully wrote: “The category specified that it was a compound word.”

Others, however, argued that "Superstar" didn't come to them regarding astronomy.

A sixth internet user wrote: “I certainly never knew that ‘superstar’ was also used in reference to stars in the sky.”

A seventh wrote: “I was only familiar with the term as applied to celebrities."

"I struggled to get anything other than '-star' for the answer today" wrote an eighth.

A ninth agreed: "I would have missed it because '1910' in connection with astronomical objects brought Halley’s Comet to mind, and I couldn’t work any compound words out from there."

According to Etym.com “superstar (n.) also super-star, by 1919 in the entertainment sense in reference to vaudevillian Gertrude Hoffmann (1883-1966), "the world's greatest show-woman;" by 1920 in sports (Babe Ruth), from super- + star (n.). It also was used around the same time by astronomers for exceptionally large stars.”

So the citation may have tracked, but the astronomy part certainly didn't come top of mind to everyone.

MAJOR JEOPARDY! DRAMA

Season 39 of the game show ends on July 28, and the landmark 40th season is a completely open question.

The next season is scheduled for September 11, but no clues are written, and all writers are still on strike.

The next season was scheduled to kick off with the 2023 Tournament of Champions in early September.

However, Ray Lalonde - who won 13 games this winter - claimed on Friday that Jeopardy! may cross the picket line by repurposing past material to film the annual tournament.

The other frontrunners for the 2023 $250K winners tournament, including Cris Pannullo (21 wins), Hannah Wilson (8 wins), Ben Chan (9 wins), and Troy Meyer (6 wins), replied they would not participate either if so.

'SCAB TOURNAMENT'

Ray- a Toronto-based scenic artist and union member- titled his Reddit message: "Starting The Season During The WGA Strike."

"There are now credible reports that the producers are making contingency plans to start filming the next season of the show with old and/or recycled material if the WGA strike remains unresolved.

"I have informed the show's producers that if the strike remains unresolved I will not cross a picket line to play in the tournament of champions."

Fan-fave Hannah Wilson replied on Reddit: "I'll stand with you, Ray! A TOC with all recycled clues doesn't sound like much fun to play in, anyway."

Hannah, who won $229,801 this spring, also told The Washington Post. “I don’t want to be in a scab tournament."

Ben Chan- who lost over a controversial Final Jeopardy typo- commented on Reddit: "Ray, thank you for taking this stand. If you are out, I am out."

Cris Pannullo, the 21-day $748K poker ace, and far-and-wide ToC frontrunner, replied: "As I have already told Ray personally, I fully agree with his stance and will not participate in any games comprised of recycled clues while the WGA strike is in effect. Glad to see Hannah's (edit: And Ben's!) post here as well."

It's now looking very likely that Season 40 will be delayed.

"Production on Season 40 is set to get underway in mid-August, with the annual TOC typically among the first episodes to be shot."

"Sony could forge ahead with regular episodes (albeit with old questions) throughout fall, pushing the TOC until winter or spring," TV Line wrote.

But that far-fetched option for regular episodes isn't going over well either.

It leaves the glaring question of who would host, which also requires crossing the picket line and resuing old questions.

Mayim Bialik, 47, stepped away from hosting the remainder of this season, and Ken Jennings, 49, has already been criticized as a so-called scab to wrap things up.

Ken would face tremendous scrutiny if he crossed the picket line again.

Fans think the best option is to air summer reruns until the strike ends.

'NO JEOPARDY! WITHOUT THE WRITERS'

The Writers Guild of America announced on May 1 that it was going on strike after weeks of talks with Netflix, Amazon, Sony (Jeopardy!'s parent company), and more fell through.

Picket lines assembled the following day as writers protested over their contracts and pay - since SAG-AFTRA joined, all of Hollywood's projects are in existential question.

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