Jeopardy! viewers were seething after ABC bosses decided to place a ‘distracting’ and ‘unnecessary’ countdown widget for Donald Trump and President Joe Biden’s first debate in the corner of the screen for the entire episode – which repeatedly blocked a contestant’s face from shot.
Thursday’s instalment of the game show aired right before the chaotic head-to-head and the network opted to promote the landmark event with an invasive sticker.
Unfortunately, the placement of the countdown meant that player Jayaker Kolli was intercepted from view during the wide shots.
Frustrated viewers were angered by the positioning of the sticker and vented their annoyance on social media.
Taking to X, one blasted: ‘This countdown clock is so unnecessary.’
Jeopardy! player Jayaker Kolli was repeatedly blocked from view during Thursday’s episode due to a presidential debate countdown sticker
The widget blocked the player’s entire face during the wide shots
Another asked: ‘Do we really need to have a big debate countdown block covering the upright side of the screen?’
A third added: ‘WTF with the debate countdown clock in the corner during Jeopardy? Very distracting. And way to ruin Jayaker’s moment.’
‘Ridiculous that ABC has the giant debate countdown bug covering contestants faces and the screen. Unprofessional,’ fumed a forth.
A fifth slammed: ‘I’d be so mad if my head was blocked by an unnecessary debate countdown my entire Jeopardy.’
‘So you finally make it onto #Jeopardy and the idiots at #ABC cover your face with this asinine countdown clock… for the entire game,’ another added.
As a result of the countdown, Texas-based medical student Jayaker was only visible during the episode when the camera zoomed in on him for close-up shots.
He ended the game in second place after fellow players Luke Hemphill and Drew Basile.
Drew finished with a seven-day streak, taking his total cash prize up to $129, 601.
The sticker ‘annoying’ sticker was visible throughout the entire episode on ABC
The countdown widget in the right hand corner proved to be a distraction for viewers
Viewers were quick to slam ABC’s ‘ridiculous’ decision and claimed it was ‘ruining’ Jayaker’s moment
Thursday night’s presidential debate was nothing short of chaotic, with Biden repeatedly stumbling over his words losing his train of thought.
At one point, Trump even declared of Biden: ‘I don’t know what he just said.’
But former president Trump also failed to land major blows in a performance littered with false claims.
Trump lied about his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol, and tried to deflect by pivoting to other issues.
Pressed on his role, he said he encouraged people to act ‘peacefully and patriotically,’ then changed the subject to launch an attack on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
Donald Trump and President Joe Biden at the first presidential debate
He said Biden ought to ‘be ashamed’ for the way the Jan. 6 defendants have been handled.
Trump, who has floated the idea of pardons for the rioters, suggested his supporters who stormed the Capitol were actually peaceful and are now being politically persecuted.
In fact, the rioters engaged in hand-to-hand combat with police and used makeshift weapons to attack officers. More than 1,400 people have been charged with federal offenses stemming from the riot, and more than 1,000 of them have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial.
‘The only person who’s on this stage that’s a convicted felon is the man I’m looking at right now,’ Biden said of his rival.
