MA 'Jeopardy!' Champ Says He Didn't Flash Supremacist Hand Symbol

WINTHROP, MA — More than 550 former "Jeopardy!" contestants have signed a letter asking the program's producers to explain the use of a white supremacist hand gesture by a contestant from Massachusetts.

Kelly Donohue, a bank examiner from Winthrop, won $79,601 during his three days on the show. When he was introduced before his third and final game, Donohue held up three fingers then tapped them against his chest while holding his thumb and index finger together. The Anti-Defamation League says the sideways OK sign is a recognized hate symbol meaning "white power."

In a since-deleted Facebook post, Donohue, 35, said he was simply trying to signal the show that aired Tuesday was his third day on "Jeopardy!" Similarly, he held up two fingers when he was introduced before his second game, which aired Monday.

"That’s a 3. No more. No less," Donohue wrote in the post, which is no longer viewable online. His Facebook profile, which has since been made private, also had a photo of Frank Sinatra making the same hand gesture.

Patch has reached out to Donohue for additional comment and will update this story if we hear back from him.

Cooper has been taking a turn as part of a revolving cast of guests hosts who have been officiating the game since Alex Trebek died last year.

"During other tapings of 'Jeopardy!' episodes, changes have been made to avoid negative messaging making it to air," the former contestants wrote. "On more than one occasion, contestants have made gestures during their introductions that were seen as undesirable for broadcast and were asked by the production team to reshoot the footage without the gesture."

Users on the network 4chan claimed the hand gesture was a white power symbol in 2017. While the claim was unverified at the time, it has since been used by white supremacists. In 2019, for example, Brenton Tarrant flashed the symbol during a court appearance after killing 50 people at a mosque in New Zealand. Footage from the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol shows several participants flashing the symbol.

Since the initial 4chan discussion, the ADL moved to officially recognize the hand gesture as a hate symbol.

Dave Copeland writes for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).