Anti-Defamation League tamps down accusations Jeopardy champ flashed White Power gesture

[UTUSN]

Sidebar: Have only looked at that show a couple of times in its entire run, have done a few minutes each with guest hosts COURIC, OZ, and COOPER, and COOPER, and the latter looks like he was born to it like with many other things. I still hold a tiny grudge that he took out (on his own or by brass) Aaron BROWN the way that went down. Just seems that he gets everything he ever wanted?!1

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https://decider.com/2021/04/28/jeopardy-fans-split-over-contestant-hand-gesture/?_ga=2.222123992.1918778482.1618715857-1158331901.1616599564

‘Jeopardy’ Contestant’s Controversial Hand Symbol Sparks Racism Accusations

Returning champion Kelly Donohue caused a stir on Twitter last night over his Jeopardy introduction, with some fans accusing him of flashing “the white power sign,” Yahoo Entertainment reports. For a brief moment at the start of last night’s show, Donohue put up three fingers and tapped them against his chest with his thumb and index finger together, which some viewers said resembled a hate symbol officially recognized by the Anti-Defamation League. ....

Still, some fans pointed out that Donohue could have been indicating his number of wins on the show. One account, The Jeopardy! Fan, shared photos from the champion’s previous introductions in which he’s holding up fingers to represent his number of wins so far. ....

Despite the online speculation, it’s unclear what Donohue meant by his gesture on last night’s episode, and Jeopardy has yet to address the moment. While the ADL points out that the hand gesture viewers assumed Donohue was making looks like an “okay” sign, they also acknowledge how the innocuous signal can turn racist when co-opted by 4chan users, who recognized it as “wp,” or “white power.”

“Because of the traditional meaning of the ‘okay’ hand gesture, as well as other usages unrelated to white supremacy, particular care must be taken not to jump to conclusions about the intent behind someone who has used the gesture,” the ADL states.

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[Midnight Writer]

1. I feel for the guy. I once gave a "thumbs up" to a colleague who read it as "Up yours!"

[Celerity]

2. it is his number of wins

Last edited Wed Apr 28, 2021, 07:08 PM - Edit history (2)

Link to tweet

Snopes:

No, ‘Jeopardy!’ Champ Kelly Donohue Didn’t Make the ‘White Power’ Hand Gesture

A brief hand gesture by Donohue sparked a torrent of internet outrage.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/jeopardy-hand-gesture/



edited (again) to add

I am having doubts now, see post 10.

I will keep this all up just so people can follow along (if they even care, lol)

[Brother Buzz]

3. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, no?

[Celerity]

5. damn, the tweet went away, let me find the pics with him holding 1 and then 2 fingers

to mark how many games he has won

[Brother Buzz]

6. Snopes shot the whole White Power shit down

Snopes has links to the other previous shows (no screen shots, but links to the entire show) plus I saw the tweet you posted, so I'm cool with it.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/jeopardy-hand-gesture/

On edit: LOL, I didn't see your edit.

[Celerity]

9. +1

[Celerity]

10. I will say this. I would not put it past a person to pre-plan out plausible deniability by

flashing 1, then 2 fingers on consecutives days, and then on the 3rd actually make the WP sign on purpose.

Maybe I am over-thinking this now due to the edits and all.

Something about that tweet poofing (even though I chased down the pics) sets off my Spidey sense that we all might be (Snopes included) getting played.

[Brother Buzz]

15. Donahue denies it and was gobsmacked when his social media exploded with vile crap

Donahue insists his hand signal was simply to indicate he'd won 3 games. In fact, Thursday morning he posted a long response to the backlash, saying, "I deeply regret this terrible misunderstanding. I never meant to hurt a soul and I assure you I am no friend of racists or white supremacists."

Kelly Donohue
4 hours ago
I’m truly horrified with what has been posted about me on social media. I absolutely, unequivocally condemn white supremacy and racism of any kind. People who know me personally know that I am not a racist, but for the public at large it bears repeating: I am not a racist and I reject and condemn white supremacy and all forms of bigotry for the evil they are. It’s shameful to me to think anyone would try to use the stage of Jeopardy! to advance or promote such a disgusting agenda. During the taping of my fourth episode, I was simply raising three fingers to mark my 3rd win. There was nothing more I was trying to indicate.

I deeply regret this terrible misunderstanding. I never meant to hurt a soul and I assure you I am no friend of racists or white supremacists.

I removed the previous post because the comments were more than I could bear. I stand by the statement itself and you can find it reported in other media. I did, however, understand the fair criticism that I did not include a forceful condemnation of white supremacy in my initial statement. I hope my feelings on that matter are clear now.

https://www.tmz.com/2021/04/29/jeopardy-winner-alleged-white-power-hand-gesture-letter-demands-disavowal/

[Celerity]

16. Here is why the tweets I put up (and Snopes used) were pulled, this whole thing is a shitshow, lol

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[Brother Buzz]

18. Will this 'The Jeopardy! Fan' update its post after Kelly Donohue clarified his statement

or has it already made up its mind?

This is a shitshow, for sure, and it's sad social media is driving it by piling on

[Celerity]

19. I hope the tweeter does update, & I am going to go with Snopes and say false, Donohue is not a nazi

especially after his new FB post

[Mosby]

20. I make a three by holding down my pinkie

Just saying.

[Celerity]

21. I hold down my ring finger, wifey holds down her pointer finger, and I asked my mum this morning

on Zoom and she held up one finger

[11 Bravo]

22. Not at DU it isn't.

[Brother Buzz]

24. DU often mirrors social media

and social media just has to have something shinny to attack; to Hell with Occam's razor.

[Behind the Aegis]

4. As the other poster said, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar" and sometimes not.

I have no clue in this case, and in the grand scheme of things, not really a big issue for me. However, that isn't a very common way to express the number three, in my opinion. Most people will do so with it with the index, middle, and ring fingers extended. Those who use sign, will use the thumb, and the index and middle fingers. So, it does look a bit strange, but I have no idea if it is completely uncommon.

ETA: Note, the first win (index), second win (index and middle fingers), so it seems odd to have a middle finger, ring finger and pinkie combo. Also, the positioning, across the heart, well, that is more common in many WP circles. So who knows. Again, not a huge deal and likely nothing.

[Dr. Strange]

7. This seems to be the hip and cool way to denote three.

Maybe stems from basketball.
https://vocal.media/unbalanced/the-three-point-shot-will-flip-nba-basketball

It also appears in this SNL sketch around 3:49

[ProfessorGAC]

14. I Use Thumb, Index, & Middle

So, there's at least 3 ways to do it.
Also, that really is the hand signal used in the NBA for a 3 point shot.
There actually is a physical reason for that.
First, at a distance, it's easier to see that it's more than 2 fingers.
Second, the best shooters release a jump shot off the index finger. The index finger is pointing down the other three fingers are higher up.
So, the ref signal is using the same fingers exposed on the shot release.
Because of that hand position, players who have made the shot raise the hand back up to show the three fingers.
It's become a much more common way to signal 3.

[Ms. Toad]

23. As I noted in another thread -

It is currently the only painless way for me to indicate 3 using my dominant hand. But I think I indicated it that way prior to the cancer surgery that now causes the pain.

Using my non-dominant hand (to try to mimic what I did pre-surgery), using the last 3 fingers takes less coordination because of how the 4th finger is "wired" (try to hold up the ring finger by itself - or better yet, put your knuckles on a table with the ring finger extended, and try to pick up the ring finger - pretty impossible. Then try it with the other fingers - piece of cake.). The ring finger naturally wants to stick with the middle and pinky finger. Both of the other two ways to signal 3 separate that triad of fingers: If I use my pointer, middle, and ring, the ring finger wants to drop down with the pinky. If I use my thumb, pointer, and middle, my ring finger wants to pop up with my middle finger.

For similar reasons, that muscular dynamic works against using two of the middle, ring, and pinky to signal 2.

I have no idea what this particular person meant - or how they normally signal 3. Just addressing whether it is a natural way to signal 3 from a muscular perspective.

[Kid Berwyn]

8. He tapped his tie twice while doing it.

His hand was kind of sideways. It really looked like he had flashed the white power sign.

ETA: Reading through this thread now I can give the bank examiner the benefit of the doubt.

[Celerity]

11. Please read my last post, I am starting to have internal doubts. Call it my bullshit detector being

recalibrated.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215381098#post10

[Kid Berwyn]

12. Thanks, Celerity! If he is, he will be exposed.

Anderson Cooper won’t stand for getting used.

[Celerity]

13. I think I fell into a trap (the tweet showing the previous day's gestures) and so did Snopes, IF

my hunch is true. Super dodgy that it is now deleted.

[Celerity]

17. I see now that the original tweets were pulled because of the same concerns I had, BUT

there has now been a comprehensive denial of it all by Donohue, AND (very important) he completely condemned white supremacy (something the tweeter said he did not do at first and thsu used as a reason for deleting his tweets).

Snopes also has changed its site to no longer show the tweets anymore (as they were deleted), and instead offers their own evidence as to the claim (Donohue was white power signalling) being rates as FALSE.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/jeopardy-hand-gesture/

[greenjar_01]

25. Glad President Biden is attending to serious business and not this kind of stupid bullshit