Jeopardy! champ Amy Schneider classily addresses transphobic trolls while continuing to break records
Jeopardy! champion Amy Schneider addressed transphobic messages she has received on social media. (YouTube/Jeopardy!)
Reigning Jeopardy! champion Amy Schneider has sent a defiant message to transphobic trolls.
Schneider, who is the first trans contestant to qualify for the quiz show’s Tournament of Champions, responded to the wave of hateful comments she has received since first appearing on Jeopardy! in a tweet posted on New Year’s Eve (31 December)
“I’d like to thank all the people who have taken the time, during this busy holiday season, to reach out and explain to me that, actually, I’m a man,” she wrote.
Schneider continued: “Every single one of you is the first person ever to make that very clever point, which had never once before crossed my mind.”
I’d like to thank all the people who have taken the time, during this busy holiday season, to reach out and explain to me that, actually, I’m a man. Every single one of you is the first person ever to make that very clever point, which had never once before crossed my mind 🙏
— Amy Schneider (@Jeopardamy) December 31, 2021
Fans quickly sent their support to Schneider and denounced those who dared to send her hate.
Laugh all the way to the bank, Amy. Your fellow women of Jeopardy have your back.
— Christy Karras (@christykarras) December 31, 2021
As a pastor I want to apologize for what you’ve had to endure. It is my tradition that owns the sin of homo/transphobia. I’m grateful, tho, for your strength, and for not believing those vicious lies. Thank u for your strength, for standing tall, and inspiring us. Peace to you.
— Irrev. Paul Baudhuin (He/Him) GET VAXXED! (@BelgianFriar) December 31, 2021
It absolutely sucks that Amy can't enjoy her Jeopardy! success on her own terms. But her willingness to share the aspects of herself that she has with the public inspires more people than her critics could ever hope to discourage.
Enjoy your pathetic existence, bigots. https://t.co/nKnNGteI6o— Jessica Stephens (@jessmstephens) January 1, 2022
https://twitter.com/JustinDigsData/status/1477047145236602880
You rock, @Jeopardamy! You’re a role model not only in acquiring knowledge and displaying gamesmanship, but also in demonstrating how to live courageously as who you are and in graciously countering all of the hate thrown at you and other trans individuals and their families. https://t.co/QARTdMFavk
— R. Scott Harrison (@rscottharrison2) January 3, 2022
Schneider has continued to break records on Jeopardy! and has extended her record for longest winning streak by a woman with her 24th victory. She has become the highest-earning woman in the show’s history and fourth highest-earning regardless of gender, with a total of $897,600 (just over £660,000).
Schneider reflected on her history-making run on the show in a series of tweets on Sunday (2 January). She acknowledged that “2021 wasn’t the best year for the world”, but it ended up being the “best year I’ve ever had”.
“Not only have I had this Jeopardy! run, but I’ve heard from so many wonderful people,” Schneider wrote. “I wish I could respond to all of you, but it’s very much appreciated!”
Amy Schneider added that 2021 was also the year she started dating her girlfriend, Genevieve.
She described the relationship as truly the “best thing that’s happened to me, not just this year, but in my whole life”.
She added: “Genevieve, I know you never read these threads, but I love you so, so much, and I wouldn’t trade you for all the Jeopardy wins in the world!” she wrote.
Beyond her Jeopardy! prowess, the software engineer recently revealed in an interview with GLAAD that she enjoys doing tarot readings for friends and occasionally strangers at bars.
“I have a lot of fun with it, and I think I’m just sort of good at kind of crafting a story out of the images,” Schneider said.
She’s also done stand-up comedy in the past and said she was “decent at it” considering the fact that she wasn’t “really, really working at it”.
