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Brian Laundrie’s family is demanding an apology from Jeopardy for a “tasteless” lead pointing to the dead killer in Sunday night’s episode.
The laundries said they were “appalled” by the clue, which referred to their son’s death by suicide in an alligator-filled swamp where his remains were found by carnivores.
“The entire Laundrie family is appalled and agrees with all the comments on social media about how distasteful this was,” Laundrie family lawyer Steven Bertolino told TMZ. “I think an apology is in order.”
The clue read, “In 2021, fugitive Brian Laundrie ended his days in Fla’s Myakkahatchee Creek area, home to these long and toothy critters.”
The correct answer was, “What are alligators,” but viewers couldn’t care less. They were baffled that the question was asked at all.
Laundrie, 23, confessed to killing his 22-year-old fiancée, Gabby Petito, in a notebook before committing suicide just over a year ago. The pair had traveled across the country in a van together.
On Twitter, where most of the online outrage begins, one viewer wrote, “Jeopardy! just had the most absurd question I’ve ever seen in my life.’
“This is the most tasteless and insensitive response I’ve ever seen on a Jeopardy! What the h— they thought? Making light of that tragic situation is abhorrent. Damn,” wrote another.
‘What the f—, danger! A Brian Laundrie question? Tasteless.’
Episode of Celebrity Jeopardy! sparked some controversy after fans reacted negatively to a response the show presented that referenced Gabby Petito killer Brian Laundrie
Actress Mayim Bialik presents Celebrity Jeopardy! She formerly regularly hosted Jeopardy! after the death of Alex Trebek
Sunday night’s episode featured celebrities John Michael Higgins, Wil Wheaton and Joel Kim Booster. Wheaton emerged victorious from the match
Viewers were angry with the show over what they felt was an unnecessary and inappropriate reference to Brian Laundrie (right), who murdered Gabby Petito (left) on a cross-country road trip last year
‘That danger! question that mentioned Brian Laundrie and the answer was alligators?? As for the actual h—, that was so… out of line. Not necessary! There was no reason to mention him at all,” wrote yet another objector.
‘Have you no soul? I can’t believe this question got past your lawyers,” one fan wrote in apparent disbelief.
The show is hosted by actress Mayim Bialik, who was formerly the host of the regular Jeopardy! after the death of Alex Trebek in 2020.
The participants in the episode were actors John Michael Higgins, Wil Wheaton and Joel Kim Booster. Wheaton – most famous for his role in Star Trek: The Next Generation – won the night.
The young internet couple’s case stirred millions across the country in 2021 as Petito’s mother reported her missing and Laundrie became the main person interested in the disappearance and death of his fiancee
Petito’s body was found in September 2021, after being strangled in a campground near the Grand Teton mountains.
Last October, Laundrie’s skeletal remains were discovered in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, near his parents’ Florida home.
It was determined that he had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Petito’s heartbroken mother Nichole Schmidt told the media this year that even Laundrie’s supposed confession in a notebook was an “absolute” falsehood.
In his notebook, Laundrie wrote that he killed Petito as an act of mercy after she seriously injured herself.
Her mother said that claim is “ridiculous.”
“We know how she died,” she said, calling Laundrie’s account of the incident “100 percent false.”
In his notebook, Laundrie wrote that Petito was in extreme pain after slipping and falling into a creek.
“We hurry back to our car and try to cross the steam of the vast creek before it gets too dark to see, too cold. I hear a splash and a scream. I could hardly see her, couldn’t find her for a moment, called her name,’ Laundrie scribbled in the notebook.
“I noticed she was barely breathing, panting, she was freezing cold, we just came out of the scorching hot national parks in Utah.
“The temperature had dropped to freezing and she was soaking wet. I carried her as far downriver as I could to the car, stumbling, exhausted with fright, knowing I couldn’t carry her safely.’
Petito was strangled by Laundrie during a road trip across the country she was vlogging. Petito’s parents have since filed a $50 million lawsuit against the Moab Police Department for failing to assist their daughter during a roadside traffic stop.
Laundrie said he made the decision to try camping for the night because Gabby was in too much pain to transport to help.
“When I pulled Gabby out of the water, she couldn’t tell me what hurt. She had a small bump on her forehead that eventually got bigger. Her feet ached, her wrist ached, but she froze and trembled violently, while carrying her she made pain sounds all the time.’
Lying beside her, she said little, sliding back and forth between violent jerks, panting in pain, begging for an end to her pain. She fell asleep and I shook her awake for fear she wouldn’t close her eyes if she had a concussion.’
She woke up in pain, started her whole painful cycle all over again, furious that I was the one who woke her up. She wouldn’t let me try to cross the creek, she thought, as I did, that the fire would go out in her sleep.’
“I don’t know how serious Gabby’s injuries are, just that she was in extreme pain.
“I ended her life. I thought it was merciful, that it’s what she wanted, but I now see all the mistakes I’ve made. I panicked. I was shocked. But from the moment I decided, I took her pain away.”
“I knew I couldn’t go on without her.
“I hurried home to spend what time I had left with my family.
“I am ending my life not for fear of punishment, but because I cannot bear to live another day without her.
“I lost our entire future together, every moment we could have cherished. I’m sorry for everyone’s loss. Don’t give my family a hard time, they lost a son and a daughter. The most beautiful girl in the world. Sorry.’
Aerial view of the area in North Port where Laundrie’s remains were found. Despite a suicide note in a diary he left behind claiming he killed Petito out of mercy, the young woman’s parents say they don’t believe his claims.
Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port, Florida is located just inland from the state’s east coast, above Port Charlotte and Fort Myers
Most recently, Petito’s parents filed a $50 million lawsuit against the police alleging that a Utah traffic officer failed to arrest Laundrie because the officer is a domestic violence perpetrator himself.
The Petito family is seeking $50 million in damages from the Moab Police Department.
Schmidt said Moab police failed to enforce the laws created to avoid the exact situation that killed her daughter.
“We feel we should bring justice because she could have been protected that day,” Schmidt said in tears. “There are laws to protect victims, and those laws were not enforced. And we don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”
The lawsuit stated that during August 2021 traffic control in Moab, officers “failed to recognize the obvious indicators of abuse.”
Had the police done their due diligence, the indictment said, “it would have been clear to them that Gabby was a victim of intimate partner violence and needed immediate protection.”
One of Petito’s lawyers, Brian Stewart, said that as an abuser himself, Officer Eric Pratt was inherently biased against suspecting Laundrie during their interaction.