Jeopardy! champion Amy Schneider robbed at gunpoint
Oakland police confirmed they are investigating the incident, after Schneider had her phone and bank cards stolen
Amy Schneider, the record-breaking and current Jeopardy! champion, says that she was robbed at gunpoint over the New Year’s weekend.
Schneider, a transgender woman and software engineer from Oakland, California, tweeted that the robbers had taken multiple items during the incident on Sunday, Jan. 2.
“Hi all! So, first off: I’m fine. But I got robbed yesterday, lost my ID, credit cards, and phone,” Schneider wrote. “I then couldn’t really sleep last night, and have been dragging myself around all day trying to replace everything.”
Hi all! So, first off: I'm fine. But I got robbed yesterday, lost my ID, credit cards, and phone. I then couldn't really sleep last night, and have been dragging myself around all day trying to replace everything.
— Amy Schneider (@Jeopardamy) January 4, 2022
Oakland Police Department confirmed to the Washington Post that it was investigating a robbery that had taken place Sunday afternoon in Adams Point.
Two people, one of whom was armed, had approached “the victim and demanded the victim’s property,” police said. “The victim complied, and the individuals ran off with the victim’s personal belongings.”
The robbery came days after Schneider became the highest-earning female competitor in Jeopardy! history, as well as the most consecutive and total wins by a woman in the show’s history.
Schneider is also the highest-earning female contestant in Jeopardy! history, with $918,000 in winnings after 25 consecutive victories. She is also the first transgender contestant to qualify for the show’s Tournament of Champions.
Jeopardy! issued a statement after Schneider spoke about the robbery, with a spokesperson saying, “We were deeply saddened to hear about this incident, and we reached out to Amy privately to offer our help in any capacity.”
Prior to the robbery, Schneider had spoken about the transphobia she has experienced since first appearing on Jeopardy! during Transgender Awareness Week.
“I’d like to thank all the people who have taken the time, during this busy holiday season, to reach out and explain to me that, actually, I’m a man,” she wrote on Dec. 31. “Every single one of you is the first person ever to make that very clever point, which had never once before crossed my mind.”
Schneider has previously said that she doesn’t want to “make too much about being trans, at least in the context of the show,” after she wore a transgender Pride flag pin during Jeopardy!’s Thanksgiving episode.
“I am a trans woman, and I’m proud of that fact, but I’m a lot of other things, too!” Schneider said.
Read More: Jeopardy! champ Amy Schneider becomes highest-earning woman in show’s history
Last month, Schneider revealed that performing Shakespeare helped her to come out as transgender.
After discussing her love of acting during an episode of Jeopardy!, Schneider tweeted that the “trigger that eventually resulted in my coming out was playing Flute in [A] Midsummer [Night’s Dream].”
“There’s a play-within-a-play at the end, and Flute is forced to play a woman, and dressing up as a woman every night felt shockingly right to me.”
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