On Friday, Amy Schneider became the
first woman to win $1 million on Jeopardy!
Schneider, who is transgender, is one
of only four contestants to break the million-dollar barrier during
regular-season winnings. She is also the quiz show's highest-earning
female contestant.
In an interview with the AP, Schneider,
who grew up in Ohio and currently lives in California with her
girlfriend, talked about the need for transgender people to speak
out.
Schneider said that she doesn't want
her social media “to be a place where people are arguing about
politics all the time. But at the same time, I can't ignore the fact
that there's people out there threatening my brothers and sisters in
the trans community. Here I have a chance to say something about it,
and I can't be completely silence. I don't necessarily want to be
super-activist about it and constantly banging that drum. But I can't
be silent either, when I know that there's so many people in danger
of real hurt and harm from political policies.”
Schneider said that she has in the past
publicly urged voters in Ohio not to vote for Republican candidates.
“I grew up in a Republican household
and a Catholic environment, and many people I love are conservative
in various ways,” she
said. “I know them, and I know they're not intentionally out
there doing harm and that they have reasons for the positions that
they hold.”
“So I want to engage people from
[across] the spectrum where that's possible. But it has to be in a
condition where my right to exist is granted, otherwise we can't
talk,” she said.
Schneider, an engineering manager, is
the first transgender person to qualify for the tournament of
champions. She will compete again on Monday.