(Toronto) Jeopardy!the longest running game show, is in the midst of a queer renaissance and Mattea Roach is proud to be a part of it.
Posted at 5:57 p.m.
She hasn’t made much of her sexuality, but that’s no secret either. Her Twitter bio, which reads, “lesbian, Nova Scotian, 19-time Jeopardy champion,” was deliberately crafted to satisfy viewers’ curiosity.
Yet when a US media outlet tweeted about the impressive feats of the ‘lesbian tutor’ – she has the sixth-longest streak in the show’s history – it angered several people, who claimed that his sexuality had little to do with his success.
But that didn’t bother M so much.me Roach.
“I think it’s relevant, not because it has anything to do with my ability to play the game, but because I think it’s part of a larger context around queer and trans candidates this season. the 23-year-old Torontonian said in an interview ahead of Friday’s episode.
She thought the post might have been a bit awkward — “I don’t just teach lesbians or teach people how to be lesbians,” she said — but otherwise harmless, though she did loved that people stood up for him.
Mme Roach said she was happy to be part of a recent influx of LGBTQ+ contestants.
“There’s been a lot of queer and trans representation on the show lately,” she remarked. People become more comfortable sharing those parts of themselves on a show like Jeopardy!because the culture has changed. »
That includes Amy Schneider, whose 40-game winning streak is the second-highest after Ken Jennings’ 74-game winning streak in 2004.
“As someone who doesn’t come across as very feminine and has also been criticized before for not really fitting the mold of what a woman should look like, seeing someone else who is a member of the community LGBT being by far the best was really, really special to me,” Ms.me Roach.
In a series of tweets last November, Ms.me Schneider had said she was proud to be a queer and transgender woman and wanted people to know that, though she added, “I’m a lot of other things too!” »
Mme Roach, meanwhile, layers sweaters over turtlenecks and talks on the show about his collection of tattoos — including two behind his knees in honor of Talking Heads.