Twitter users slammed NBC News this week for their comments on “Jeopardy!” contestant Mattea Roach.
Mattea Roach has won 17 consecutive games of the hit TV show, amassing a grand prize of $396,182, the New York Post reported. Roach has won more than any other Canadian contestant in the history of the show, NBC noted in their coverage.
“The 23-year-old lesbian tutor from Toronto has amassed a total of $320,081, the most by a Canadian contestant in ‘Jeopardy!’ history,” NBC News captioned the article on Twitter.
In the article, NBC reporters continued to focus on Roach’s sexuality. “And as Roach breaks ‘Jeopardy!’ records, she’s also amounted another noteworthy accolade. Roach, who is a lesbian, according to her Twitter account, has become the game show’s latest LGBTQ sensation,” NBC wrote in the piece.
Is her sexual orientation really relevant here? https://t.co/HJAV0d70TQ
— Chris Taylor (@christaylor_nyc) April 26, 2022
Smart enough to win hundreds of thousands of dollars on a game show only to be reduced to an identity so that NBC News to tokenize and virtue signal. https://t.co/L9yrrLWB5j
— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) April 26, 2022
Me looking for coverage of “straight Ken Jennings'” winnings https://t.co/xWq4dIUsUX pic.twitter.com/uwPwaJh8d7
— Denise Wong (@DeniseTWong) April 26, 2022
The Blue-check Twitter mafia were not the only ones annoyed that NBC felt the need to discuss Roach’s sexuality. Other users pointed out the grammatical errors within NBC’s Tweet. (RELATED: Musk Trolls Trump)
Oh ffs. What on earth is a lesbian tutor? You mean she helps people become better lesbians? Be better @NBCNews & know that this incredible woman’s sexuality has absolutely no bearing on her amazing @Jeopardy streak & smarts! #Jeopardy
— Patti M (@mamapatti55) April 26, 2022
The grammatical ambiguity of this lede confuses me. Does she teach lesbians part time? Or does she teach how to be a lesbian part time?
Also, on a related note, for how long has NBC been stuck in the 50s?
— Barney Panofsky’s Best Intentions (@mynamesnotgordy) April 26, 2022
The Canadians had the most severe response, with the official Halifax News & Info Twitter account sharing some choice words for NBC. Roach hails from Halifax, Nova Scotia, according to TV Insider.
Holy s**t. @NBCNews do better. https://t.co/t3LaCUTfSj
— Halifax News & Info (@haligonia) April 28, 2022
NBC has yet to make any public statements regarding the backlash to the tweet, the NY Post noted. The account was Tweeting as of Thursday morning.