“Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings found himself at the center of a heated online firestorm after mocking demands from transgender activists that people boycott The New York Times — including its wildly popular games and recipes.
Jennings sparked the backlash Thursday after joking that he had received “express permission from the trans community” to continue paying for his New York Times subscription.
The sarcastic response quickly infuriated activists on the left-wing social media platform Bluesky, where critics accused the longtime trivia champion of dismissing their concerns and turning a serious issue into a punchline.
The controversy began when Jennings posted screenshots from the newspaper’s popular Spelling Bee game.
“My wife and I have a game where we try to invent the day’s grossest-sounding word on NYT Spelling Bee,” Jennings wrote.
One Bluesky user reposted the comment and declared that anyone who claims to support transgender people should stop playing the newspaper’s games.
“I wish people who care about trans people could understand that playing nyt games is still an insult to trans people,” the user wrote.
Jennings responded with a dose of sarcasm.
“This may be true of others but I actually got express permission from the trans community to keep NYT games and recipes,” he wrote. “I also have a news subscription, which is arguably worse, so I had to specifically send in a written request. Took 30 days but I got approved.”
Jennings continued the joke by pretending that an official transgender authority had reviewed his subscription request.
“They were like ‘Trans people are not a monolith’ and ‘Like-minded allies may disagree on specific media boycotts’ and stuff like that,” he wrote. “It was a huge load off my mind!”
The user did not find the exchange amusing.
“I was being sincere and serious, but thanks for turning it into a joke. that feels great,” the person responded.
On Friday, the user complained that Jennings had not privately contacted them or issued an apology.
The critic accused Jennings of making “no effort to apologize or acknowledge that he was an a–hole about trans people,” adding, “No lessons learned it seems. I was really hoping for some sign he understood why people are so upset.”
Other Bluesky users piled on, telling Jennings to “read the f—ing room” and calling his response dismissive. Several commenters also demanded to know whether the television host planned to apologize.
But journalist Jesse Singal, co-host of the “Blocked and Reported” podcast, argued that the furious reaction was more representative of Bluesky’s intensely partisan culture than the views of ordinary transgender Americans.
“I’m guessing the average trans person is orders of magnitude more likely to play NYT games than to get mad at others for doing so,” Singal told Fox News Digital.
Singal said highly partisan platforms can attract users with increasingly rigid political views, creating what he described as ugly “pressure-cooker dynamics.”
According to Singal, more moderate users eventually leave, while the most extreme voices remain locked in a constant battle to prove who is the most ideologically committed.
He noted that similar behavior can also be found among some right-wing users on X, although the arguments there tend to focus on conservative concerns such as immigration rather than transgender issues.
The fury directed at Jennings comes amid a years-long campaign by transgender activists against The New York Times.
Activists have accused the newspaper of publishing coverage they consider hostile or unfair toward transgender people. Some have argued that purchasing subscriptions, playing its games or using its recipe service financially supports the outlet and should therefore be treated as a betrayal.
In 2023, hundreds of Times contributors and thousands of subscribers signed an open letter condemning the newspaper’s coverage of transgender issues.
The LGBTQ+ advocacy organization GLAAD also sent a letter accusing the publication of producing “irresponsible, biased coverage of transgender people.”
Jennings, however, is hardly known as an opponent of transgender rights.
The “Jeopardy!” host previously criticized California Gov. Gavin Newsom after the Democrat said in 2025 that he did not believe it was fair for transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports.
Responding to a Bluesky user who said he would “never, ever” vote for Newsom, Jennings appeared to agree.
“This is correct,” Jennings wrote at the time. “Any candidate cynically ‘triangulating’ on trans kids is a non-starter, and now is the time to say so. There’s still so much time to advance candidates that DON’T suck.”
Despite his previous support, Jennings’ sarcastic response to the New York Times boycott campaign was apparently enough to make him the latest target of online activists demanding ideological loyalty.
Fox News Digital contacted Jennings for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
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To the LGBTQ+ group. You are what you are and the rest of the world certainly can’t do anything about it. The majority of the people, the Muslim cult people excluded, are perfectly willing to live and let live. We don’t care who or what you sleep with. Your demonstrations and publicity stunts do absolutely nothing to project a positive for your group. I have friends and relatives that fall under the umbrella of your group and we all get along just fine. Your preferences are a subject that rarely, very rarely, come up in conversation.