'Jeopardy!' fame Claire Sattler says she suffered 'emotional damage' due to cyberbullying

June 2024 · 3 minute read

BONITA SPRINGS, FLORIDA: Claire Sattler, a participant in 'Jeopardy!', has spoken out about the negative aspects of winning large on TikTok. Sattler talked about how she experienced "emotional damage" after winning the competition because of widespread cyberbullying.

Sattler, the winner of the 2018 Teen Tournament, alleged that cyberbullies "stalked" her and made false accusations against her when she first competed as a teen. She was 16 when she won the 2018 Teen Tournament and is one of the two former champions from whom the show has recruited its valued players. Sattler has come back to the show for the most recent Mayim Bialik special. Bialik, 47, is hosting the 14-episode High School Reunion Tournament, which comprises 27 former Teen Tournament contestants who first faced off in 2018 and 2019, according to The Sun. Only after the episode's winner, who will get $100,000 and a spot in the 2023 Tournament of Champions, is announced, 48-year-old Ken Jennings will return to his role as host for one more month.

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Sattler, a Bonita Springs, Florida native who is currently a senior at Yale University, won the quarterfinal episode on Monday, February 27. But nevertheless, she admitted that after winning in 2018, she faced a constant stream of online criticism and offensive messages, which left her with "emotional damage".

'Stalkers. Nationwide cyberbullying'

Sattler stated that some people even discovered her personal social media accounts and others vilely accused her of having sex with the show's former host Alex Trebek in exchange for her win. In a TikTok video that began with the sentence, 'What was it like being on Teen Jeopardy?', Sattler discussed it while holding up a framed photo of herself and the late host, who died in November 2020. 

Sattler wrote, "Stalkers. Nationwide cyberbullying," as she displayed a screenshot of an email she had received informing her that someone had started following her on Google+. She added, "Being accused of having [sex] with a 79-year-old man (as a 16-year-old) for the answers. Because you weren't smart enough to win on your own apparently."

'People are sick and you don't deserve it'

The video soon garnered popularity after Sattler posted it in 2022, receiving over 270K views and 23K likes. The song 'Pompeii' by Bastille and the voiceover 'Emotional damage' were featured in the TikTok video. 'Jeopardy!' fans poured their love and support into Sattler's poignant post as one person wrote, "I am so sorry you went threw all of that."

Another fan wrote, "I'm so happy Alex treated you right. I'm so sorry for how the aftermath was. People are sick and you don't deserve it." A third fan wrote, "I'll never forget when you dabbed, so sorry for all that other stuff though me and my mom liked you!"

This other individual commented, "Guess I should be glad I never qualified for televised 🥴 that's a whole lot of awful, I'm sorry." One more fan wrote, "Why would someone cyber bully you? I think it's cool as hell you made it on!"

This article contains remarks made on the internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.

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