What is her excuse?
A “Jeopardy!” contestant who earned the second-lowest score in the quiz show’s history is speaking out about her dismal appearance on the program.
Erin Buker was widely ridiculed after appearing on last Monday night’s episode, where she ended with -$7,200.
Only former competitor Patrick Pearce, who had -$7,400 after his game in July 2021, has fared worse.
Taking to Reddit, the stay-at-home mom from Pasadena, California admitted it “was a day to forget.”
“When it came to the buzzer, I was my own worst enemy, frequently buzzing in midway through the clue as if my thumb had a mind of its own,” Buker explained. “There’s something uniquely frustrating about knowing answers, but not having the wherewithal to ring in at the appropriate time to answer them. That was my deficit and I own it entirely.”
“All in all, it was still a great experience,” the contestant continued. “As the alternate for the week before, I got to know all of the contestants who aired last week really well, and they were truly salt of the earth.”
“Jeopardy!” fans were impressed with Buker’s graciousness and responded with words of support.
“You were fantastic! I’ve always said that if I got on ‘Jeopardy!’ and gave a wrong answer, I would probably never ring in again,” one wrote. “You kept going and never gave up, and getting selected to be there in the first place is so far ahead of most of us watching at home!”
A second supporter chimed in, saying: “I’m glad there were still some positives in the experience for you! I hope you’ve been kind to yourself and are able to recognize how great of an achievement it is just to make it onto that stage. It’s more than I, and the majority of viewers, have managed. As such, I can hardly imagine how different and nerve-wracking it must be up there. Much love and respect to you.”
The comments were far kinder than those that were posted to X following Buker’s appearance on Monday night.
“Someone want to tell Erin the object of the game is to answer correctly,” one viewer snarked.
Another sassily stated: “Poor Erin. She’s so far in the hole.”