At White House, ‘Jeopardy!’ star Amy Schneider tells trans youth to ‘hang in there’
Amy Schneider can’t stop winning. After wrapping a record-shattering stint on “Jeopardy!” and getting engaged to the love of her life, the trailblazing trivia phenom visited the White House for Trans Day of Visibility.
On Thursday, the former software engineering manager from Oakland, Calif., spoke with reporters at the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room about issues affecting the trans community and objectives for her trip to Washington, D.C.
“The White House was good enough to invite me here and be visible, I suppose,” Schneider said from behind the presidential lectern. “I’m just really, really honored to be here and really grateful that this is being celebrated and the trans people are being celebrated in a place like this.”
Asked to comment on anti-trans legislation in certain states — such as laws that restrict access to gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth and prohibit trans girls from participating in girls sports — Schneider said, “They’re really scary.”
“Those are life-saving medical treatments, and ... these bills will cause the deaths of children, and that’s really sad to me,” she added. “It’s really frightening.”
Addressing trans children in those states directly, Schneider said, “Hang in there.
“I think that this backlash right now is temporary,” she continued. “The country overall is on our side and getting more so every day. And I think it’s not going to be too long before these sorts of bills are seen as a thing of the past.”
Oakland hero and ‘Jeopardy!’ champion Amy Schneider discusses her trailblazing winning streak, popular Twitter threads and love for the Bay Area.
However, Schneider said she has no plans “at the moment” to personally lobby against such legislation at the state level.
“I am trying to figure out where that sort of advocacy and activism fits into my life,” she said. “Everything’s changed in the last few months, and I’m still playing it by ear. I would like to do more of it. But for right now, I’m just not sure what the right and effective way to do that would be.”
Ultimately, Schneider said her goal is to continue doing what she’s been doing so far, which is “being a trans person out there that isn’t monstrous and isn’t threatening and is just a normal person like we all are.”
“The more that people like me can be seen, the harder it is to sustain the myths that are driving a lot of this hate and fear,” she added.
Reigning ‘Jeopardy!’ champion Amy Schneider recently tweeted that her ID, credit cards and phone were stolen in an Oakland robbery.
Earlier in the day, Schneider returned to Twitter for the first time in a week to make an important announcement.
“I know I haven’t been posting a lot on here, but I’ve been traveling all over the country these past few weeks,” Schneider explained.
“This morning, for instance we’re getting ready to visit, well… THE WHITE HOUSE!!!!! It’s hard to believe this is really happening.”
In her tweet, the game-show champion also shared photos of herself and her new fiancée, Genevieve Davis, getting all glammed up ahead of their White House visit.
On her Instagram story, Schneider posted a sweet selfie of her and Davis proudly “repping Oakland” by wearing apparel made by Bay Area designers on their flight to Washington, D.C.
Trailblazing ‘Jeopardy!’ champion Amy Schneider just got engaged to her girlfriend, Genevieve Davis. This is the story of how they fell in love.
Schneider and Davis received an invite to the White House as part of the Biden administration’s plans for Trans Day of Visibility. In addition to boasting the second-longest “Jeopardy!” run ever — and the longest winning streak for a woman — Schneider also made history as the quiz show’s first openly transgender winner to qualify for the Tournament of Champions.
“Specifically around the previous trans contestants that have been on — that meant a lot to me to see them and be able to envision myself where they were,” Schneider told the Los Angeles Times in January.
“I hope [my success] makes it seem possible. ... A place that women belong is on that champion’s podium.”
Reigning ‘Jeopardy!’ champ Amy Schneider just won her 39th straight game, surpassing Matt Amodio and clinching the second-longest winning streak ever.
According to the Associated Press, Schneider was slated to meet Thursday with second gentleman Doug Emhoff, who will later co-host a conversation with transgender kids and their parents opposite Admiral Rachel Levine — the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the Senate.
Schneider’s White House debut comes two months after she notched an impressive 40 consecutive victories on “Jeopardy!” The only contestant to outlast her on the program is current host and greatest “Jeopardy!” player of all time, Ken Jennings, who won 74 straight games in 2004.
Last month, Schneider got engaged to Davis, who was a key pillar of support during her meteoric rise to “Jeopardy!” fame.
‘I knew it was going to be a battle all the way,’ Amy Schneider said after Chicago librarian Rhone Talsma ended her 40-day ‘Jeopardy!’ winning streak.
“We both felt — from pretty early in our relationship — that this is where it was headed, but I was so surprised by it,” Schneider recently told The Times.
“I’d known for a while that it was going to happen, so it’s kind of just a formality, in a sense. But being actually engaged was such a good feeling, and I was surprised by that.”
After quitting her day job, Schneider now is focused on writing a book and “being a celebrity or whatever.” Up next, she’ll square off against fellow “Jeopardy!” hall-of-famer Matt Amodio in the Tournament of Champions, which is set to air in November.
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