A 'Jeopardy!' winner appeared to make a white-power hand gesture on air, and former contestants are demanding an apology

• A "Jeopardy!" winner appeared to make a white-power hand gesture during an appearance on the show.
• Now, a group of people who say they're former contestants are demanding an apology.
• The winner, Kelly Donohue, has denied that the gesture was meant to be a white-power symbol.

A group of over 500 people, who say they're former "Jeopardy!" contestants, are demanding an apology after winner Kelly Donohue appeared to make a white-power hand gesture during a recent appearance on the show.

But Donohue himself said that it was just a "terrible misunderstanding."

On Tuesday's episode of the popular game show, Donohue held up three fingers while tapping his hand against his chest.

Screenshots of the moment quickly circulated on social-media, going viral, with many Twitter users referring to the gesture as a "white-power sign."

In a Facebook post on Thursday from an account that appears to belong to Donohue, but which Insider was unable to verify, he explained that the gesture was not meant to be a racist symbol, but was in reference to the three games he'd already won.

Insider reached out to representatives for "Jeopardy!" and to the Facebook account appearing to belong to Donohue for comment, but didn't immediately hear back.

Before Donohue posted his updated explanation on Thursday, former contestants were already calling for an apology

In an open letter posted Wednesday to Medium, before a Facebook account linked to Donohue shared an updated statement, the group of former contestants said that Donohue's gesture looked very similar to one co-opted by white supremacist groups.

"He held his thumb and forefinger together with his other three fingers extended and palm facing inward, and he tapped his chest," the letter said. "This, whether intentional or not, resembled very closely a gesture that has been co-opted by white power groups, alt right groups, and an anti-government group that calls itself the Three Percenters."

The Three Percenters are a far-right militia group whose name centers on a myth that claims only three percent of colonists fought during the Revolutionary War.

The letter went on to mention an earlier, since-deleted Facebook post by Donohue, in which he reportedly said the gesture was "a 3. No more. No less," and was meant to represent the number of games he'd won.

"Regardless of his stated intent, the gesture is a racist dog whistle," the contestants wrote in their letter.

They concluded their letter by urging Donohue to issue an apology, and for "Jeopardy!" producers to be more mindful of potentially racist behavior.

"As people whose lives have been largely beneficially impacted by this show and its community, we really hope to see a statement and a disavowal of both of this week's events, and we would like to see Jeopardy! address Kelly's behavior," the contestants wrote.

A Facebook account that appears to belong to Donohue addressed the accusations in a longer post Thursday morning

The statement said that Donohue was "horrified" about what had been written about him on social media.

"I absolutely, unequivocally condemn white supremacy and racism of any kind," the post said. "I am not a racist and I reject and condemn white supremacy and all forms of bigotry for the evil they are."

Donohue went on to explain that he was "simply raising three fingers to mark my 3rd win. There was nothing more I was trying to indicate."

He also wrote that he deleted his previous Facebook post on the matter (seemingly the one referenced in the open letter on Medium) since the comments were "more than I could bear."

"I deeply regret this terrible misunderstanding. I never meant to hurt a soul and I assure you I am no friend of racists or white supremacists," the statement concluded.