2011 contestant writes about social media comments on her appearance

[Bamaman]

I might be more sympathetic to her plight had she not been writing on a blog that had a bunch of sex related articles and links.

[Tigershark]

I don't know if this had been shared before, this post made me think of Don't be a Jeopardy! Jerk from one of the wardrobe/make-up coordinators.

And ladies: there has never been a more important time to find the right bra. If you're unsure of the fit, then model it for your friends or neighbors or local Belk cashiers. When people hear you're going to be on TV, they're going to be very honest with you about the fact that your breasts are pointing in two different directions. Heed their words!

[Turd Ferguson]

Darn, I thought it was going to be the Taylor Swift video...

?? I thought that was Taylor Swift ...

Oh, I just saw Arthur so had no interest in clicking on it.

[dhkendall]

Darn, I thought it was going to be the Taylor Swift video...

?? I thought that was Taylor Swift ...

Oh, I just saw Arthur so had no interest in clicking on it.

That's Arthur? You sure that not TaySwi or whatever the media calls her?

[Lampy]

I agree; there are a lot of "this is how the internet reacted" perspectives out there; contestant on television shows seem like the right level of minor level famous to only hear this because of today's internet. I remember a specific story that ran well past it's expected lifecycle because some intern wrote an opinion piece about a guy she dated on OKCupid ... who happened to be a Magic: The Gathering world champ. She clearly underestimated the Venn diagram overlap of "Magic players" and "denizens of the internet"; her tone and snide were insulting and the back and forth way the story went on of various attacks and defenses gave content to some sites for weeks.

Actually what she said was that he should have said he was a Magic: The Gathering World Champ (because eww, I guess) in his OKCupid profile and that not doing so was lying. So it was pretty awful. Then what happened was that the internet unleashed about 80% garbage and 20% reasonable commentary in her direction.

FinkelJ plays LL, by the by. Not particularly well, really, but it's cool that he stuck around past Rookie.

[MarkBarrett]

I don't know if this had been shared before, this post made me think of Don't be a Jeopardy! Jerk from one of the wardrobe/make-up coordinators.

And ladies: there has never been a more important time to find the right bra. If you're unsure of the fit, then model it for your friends or neighbors or local Belk cashiers. When people hear you're going to be on TV, they're going to be very honest with you about the fact that your breasts are pointing in two different directions. Heed their words!

That is pretty damn funny with a lot of truth to it and well-written. Real J! employee and instructions contestants receive?

What the instructions had on my 2005 paperwork:

Men: Dressy casual. Suit, sport coat, sweater, shirt and tie. Any of these looks are fine. (If possible bring an additional sport coat, tie or sweater to see what looks best on camera.)

Women: Dressy casual. Dress, skirt & blouse, blazer, pantsuit. Any of these looks are fine. If in doubt bring something extra to see what looks best on camera. Please be sure that your hair and make-up are ready for air. Bring with you a bright lipstick. (Wearing a pale lipstick- or none at all - is not flattering on camera)

Please: No jeans or sneakers (both men and women). Also, no solid white (white shirt under a jacket or sweater is all right), and no fine or busy prints.

[alietr]

I don't know if this had been shared before, this post made me think of Don't be a Jeopardy! Jerk from one of the wardrobe/make-up coordinators.

I don't know ... the tone of it just doesn't sound like something official from Jeopardy. And why should the contestants care which categories the people at home want to hear? Something just off about it ...

[MinnesotaMyron]

I don't know if this had been shared before, this post made me think of Don't be a Jeopardy! Jerk from one of the wardrobe/make-up coordinators.

I don't know ... the tone of it just doesn't sound like something official from Jeopardy. And why should the contestants care which categories the people at home want to hear? Something just off about it ...

The fact that it's credited to a male writer at the top is what tipped me off that it's a humor piece.

[Blue Lion]

A second-place finisher's first-person account of the comments about her looks that were posted to social media when her episode aired.

"It Happened to Me: I Was Boob-Shamed on 'Jeopardy!'"

Julia Collins was on the receiving end of an awful lot of disparaging comments about her personal appearance during her run last season. My wife saw some of the comments (not on this board, but elsewhere), and said there are people out there who expect all women to look like Jessica Simpson--and God help the poor woman who's tall and/or big-boned and dares to go on TV.

[Holocene Hero]

Best, and IMHO only, attitude to have towards such things is the following:

http://youtu.be/3HmizQEznFo

Oh my god, the comments on this video alone are more than enough to prove how fucking terrible social media has become.

[NYCScribbler]

This is what I have learned about the Internet: if there are breasts, they will be commented on. Either they will be too big or too small, or otherwise unsuitable to people who need to mind their own business.

[Johnblue]

Turd ferguson is correct. Why would anyone go running to Twitter if they know what the site is like and then be crushed by a bunch of boobs making nasty comments? I don't use Twitter but everyone seems to know it's pretty rough.

[lieph82]

Yeah, instead of expecting human beings not to be awful, offensive morons, let's blame her for getting offended when personally attacked.

[dhkendall]

Oh my god, the comments on this video alone are more than enough to prove how fucking terrible social media has become.

You're expecting support from a YouTube comment thread? YouTube comments are the archetypal "this is what's wrong with the internet" example, the one always quoted. I have never once seen a video that doesn't have the scum of the earth commenting, and I usually stick to educational videos and videos of national anthems. (I stand corrected: I just checked my one and only uploaded video, one from 2003 of me doing comedy, and thankfully it hasn't been subject to that trend, but then it's only had 650 views in 7 years (and only 4 comments, one of which is my own). I suppose when I get on the show, though, it'll surface soon enough and get endlessly mocked (hell, if it wasn't my own video I'd mock the dork that thinks he's funny) but, eh, some people are just assholes when given the chance to be anonymous. No sense giving them any concern.

[This Is Kirk!]

Yeah, instead of expecting human beings not to be awful, offensive morons, let's blame her for getting offended when personally attacked.

I can see this one both ways. I think there's a natural curiosity to see what people are saying about you, but you better have pretty thick skin.

[Turd Ferguson]

Yeah, instead of expecting human beings not to be awful, offensive morons, let's blame her for getting offended when personally attacked.

I can see this one both ways. I think there's a natural curiosity to see what people are saying about you, but you better have pretty thick skin.

I had meant to say that a friend at my viewing party was searching twitter during the airing, and I had some searching of my own during the regular games before mine to see if anyone was talking about the show (inspired, I think, by seaborgium mentioning during the TOC things people had said about him during his airings)

So, yes, I totally understand the curiousity, while not being entirely comfortable with it. I was fully aware, though (even then) that the Twitterverse isn't exactly made up of the most mature bunch of people, on the whole. Ironically, the only critical comment I found was on this board's predecessor, where someone said I was evidence that having an interesting interview story certainly isn't a requirement to be picked to be on the show

Here's another analogy... just as someone maybe "should" be able to read tweets about them without being personally insulted, maybe a person "should" also be able to wear a Cowboys jersey to a game in Philly without experiencing abuse... that's just not reality, though, and no "football fanatic" should be surprised to be treated poorly.

(Again, the thing I find most interesting about this piece is the idea that the woman's "Twitter fanatic" husband would be surprised to find those kind of comments on Twitter)

[Golf]

It's sort of a double-edged sword.

Obviously many people are jerks with social media being their only outlet, no question about that. But when a contestant (or any person currently in the limelight) goes into social media it's solely as a selfish endeavor, to see what people are saying about me because they're on TV! If it's all good they're patting themselves on the back, but if it's bad they (sometimes) throw a hissy fit. Well, if you've got even a shred of common sense you know there's going to be bad comments in there.

The adult usually just laughs it off, realizing they're dealing with ignorance, and moves on. But when a contestant from over three years ago writes a piece concerning comments from back then, it's for one reason only. To get some more time in the spotlight.

[BobF]

I can see this one both ways.

Apparently so could her boobs. What, did I just say that? Time to turn the filter between my brain and my fingers back on.

[Vanya]

It's sort of a double-edged sword.

Obviously many people are jerks with social media being their only outlet, no question about that. But when a contestant (or any person currently in the limelight) goes into social media it's solely as a selfish endeavor, to see what people are saying about me because they're on TV! If it's all good they're patting themselves on the back, but if it's bad they (sometimes) throw a hissy fit. Well, if you've got even a shred of common sense you know there's going to be bad comments in there.

The adult usually just laughs it off, realizing they're dealing with ignorance, and moves on. But when a contestant from over three years ago writes a piece concerning comments from back then, it's for one reason only. To get some more time in the spotlight.

Oh, yeah, some spotlight. lol

[ihavejeoprosy]

I'm feeling real salty this morning, but would she have been as affected if the comments said she looked great?
People will always have an opinion about your looks or anything else about you.
How self aggrandizing of her to dedicate an entire article about people not fawning over looks and then presenting her life history as if its some kind of tragedy that there were snarky people on Twitter.