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Father Unhappy With Alex Trebek Following Son's Costly Jeopardy Spelling Error

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Thomas Hurley knew the answer to the question that was posed, "emancipation proclamation," but the 12-year-old made a costly spelling error when he added an extra letter in his answer and host Alex Trebek ruled against him.

Hurley's father said he was not happy with the way the host handled his son's mistake.

Father Unhappy With Alex Trebek Following Son's Costly Jeopardy Spelling Error

"He was basically humiliated on television, and if you had seen the show, Alex Trebek was really sort of callous and smug, kind of condescending towards my son," he told WCBS 880's Fran Schneidau on Friday.

The interaction sparked a massive social media response which left Jeopardy's Facebook page peppered with comments from people who were also bothered by the way the boy was treated.

Hurley's father said that the incident has dashed his son's dreams of hosting the show.

"He told me the other day he is not even a fan anymore," his father said.

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