Who is Kelly Donohue? Jeopardy! Contestant Uses "OK" Hand Gesture Associated With White Supremacy

Who is Kelly Donohue in Jeopardy!? Contestant Creates Buzz For "OK" Hand Gesture Associated With White Supremacy

Kelly Donohue has caused quite an uproar on Twitter for his sensitive hand gesture associated with 'white supremacy' during an episode of the popular TV game show "Jeopardy!". Donohue used the upside-down "OK" hand sign which has been classified as a symbol of HATE, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Many people on Twitter were left wondering if the returning champion of Jeopardy shows a symbol with his hand that is tied to white supremacists.

Many users on Twitter accused Donohue of supporting hate groups, especially white supremacists. "Hey @Jeopardy! Your contestant Kelly Donohue just flashed a Nazi far-right symbol," tweeted Brett Malec. But, one of Kelly Donohue's fans pointed out that Donohue held up his fingers in correlation to the number of wins he has recorded in Jeopardy! and that on Tuesday, he had marked three wins in the TV game show which is the exact number of wins he had so far and the reason why he showed the three fingers on Television.

Another user tweeted, "What sign is it that red tie-wearing contestant Kelly Donohue made at the start of @Jeopardy? It looked like the white power sign to me! Are you kidding me right now @ABCNetwork," while another user replied, "I saw that as well, then hopped on Twitter to make sure I wasn't imagining it. What a despicable excuse for a human being."

Who is Kelly Donohue
Kelly Donohue faces backlash for hand gesture during TV game show Twitter screen grab

However, neither Donohue nor the "Jeopardy!" team has not commented on the matter yet. What Donohue tried to say using his hand gesture is open for debate. However, his third-place earnings did help the society as Jeopardy! donated $23,600 to Justice Defenders.

Who is Kelly Donohue?

Kelly Donohue is a contestant in Jeopardy, who has raised eyebrows for his sensitive hand gesture associated with white supremacy. He has won three Jeopardy! games as of Tuesday, April 27. Kelly Donohue is a bank examiner who hails from Winthrop in Massachusetts. So far, has has won $79,601 in Jeopardy!, the famous TV game show which is currently being hosted by Levar Burton.

What does the 'OK' Hand Gesture mean?

Several years ago, the "OK" hand gesture was declared a symbol of hate by a Jewish civil rights organization. It added the OK hand sign along with 35 other symbols to its "Hate on Display" database, according to reports. The sign also carries the hate message that is being used on memes and widely shared on social media, according to ADL's Center on Extremism director, Oren Segal.