A ruling during Kids Week on the popular game show Jeopardy! has one contestant and many fans of the program upset over what they believe to be an unfair ruling? The cause of the controversy? A lone, errant "t." 

Thomas Hurley III was in second place on Wednesday leading up to the Final Jeopardy question, "Abraham Lincoln called this document, which took effect in 1863, 'a fit and necessary war measure.'" Wagering $3000 of his $9600 on his answer, Hurley originally thought that he had answered correctly with "What is the Emanciptation Proclamation."

The only problem with that answer, of course, is that there is no "t" after the "p" in emancipation. The show's Alex Trebek said he had no choice but to dock the eigth-grader the $3000 he had wagered on the answer.

"I was pretty upset that I was cheated out of the final 'Jeopardy!' question," he told The News-Times of Danbury. "It was just a spelling error."

Fans of the show immediately took to social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook to voice their displeasure over the ruling. Though many of their fans were upset by the decision, so far the makers of Jeopardy! have stood by their decision.

"If 'Jeopardy!' were to give credit for an incorrect response (however minor), the show would effectively penalize the other players," said the show's producers. "We love presenting young people as contestants on our show and make every effort to be fair and consistent in their treatment."

As it turns out, the ruling did not have any real effect on the outcome of the show. Hurley stayed in second place despite losing the question and would have had no real chance of beating first place contestant Skyler Hornbeck. Hornbeck finished with $66,600 and also answered the Final Jeopardy question correctly.

Even though the ruling did not have any impact on the game, many fans of the show were still upset at the way it was handled. They have cited Trebek's lack of compassion during the situation, when he observed that Hurley had "misspelled it [emancipation] badly." Some have since threatened to stop watching the show.

"I think it stinks that Thomas Hurley was penalized for spelling emancipation wrong. I have watched Jeopardy! for many years and have heard it said that correct spelling is not required as long as the judges can tell what is intended. I won't be watching any more...it's time for a new host!" said Lisa Smith on the show's Facebook page.

For his efforts, Hurley will still get $2000 for coming in second place. Hornbeck set the all-time record for most winnings by a kid with his haul, which also happened to be third-largest single day winning in the show's history.