‘Jeopardy!’ Controversies and Hilarious Moments Over the Years: From the $1 Win to the ‘Age of Consent’

Credit: Karyn Louise/Shutterstock

'Jeopardy!' Controversies and Hilarious Moments Over the Years: From the $1 Win to the 'Age of Consent'

Make it a true daily disaster, Alex. Jeopardy! contestants often practice for years before appearing on the quiz show, but they sometimes still find themselves in the middle of a wild moment. Even Ken Jennings, who holds the longest winning streak ever on Jeopardy!, has flubbed an answer or two. During his original run in 2004, one of his most memorable mistakes happened when he was answering a question in the "Tool Time" category. "This term for a long-handled gardening tool can also mean an immoral pleasure seeker," read late host Alex Trebek. Jennings, who had a commanding lead at the time, rang in with the response, "What's a hoe?" As the audience began to laugh, Trebek quipped, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! They teach you that in school in Utah, huh?" (The Chase cohost graduated from the state's Brigham Young University.) The Planet Funny author later found himself at the center of a Jeopardy! controversy when some of his old tweets resurfaced just before he began his first stint as a guest host for the show following Trebek's November 2020 death. “Nothing sadder than a hot person in a wheelchair,” read one tweet Jennings posted in 2014. [jwplayer wWJoUiRI-zhNYySv2] The former software engineer apologized for the posts, saying that they "worked as jokes" in his mind but didn't read so well on screen. "Sometimes I said dumb things in a dumb way and I want to apologize to people who were (rightfully!) offended," he tweeted in December 2020. "It wasn’t my intention to hurt anyone, but that doesn’t matter; I screwed up, and I’m truly sorry.” Jeopardy! proceeded with Jennings' gig as a guest host, but the Wall Street Journal later reported that the tweets may have cost him a job as Trebek's permanent replacement. In August 2021, Sony Pictures announced that executive producer Mike Richards would take over as the syndicated game show's permanent host, but Richards resigned days later after multiple of his own controversies. After Richards' departure, Mayim Bialik, who had been announced as the host for primetime and spin-off specials, began filling in as the show's interim host. The Big Bang Theory alum has since alternated with Jennings, who is still a consulting producer on the show. In July 2022, Variety reported that the dynamic duo will continue sharing hosting duties. Keep scrolling for a look back at some of the wildest and most controversial moments in Jeopardy! history. [podcast_block]

Credit: Karyn Louise/Shutterstock

'Jeopardy!' Controversies and Hilarious Moments Over the Years: From the $1 Win to the 'Age of Consent'

Make it a true daily disaster, Alex. Jeopardy! contestants often practice for years before appearing on the quiz show, but they sometimes still find themselves in the middle of a wild moment. Even Ken Jennings, who holds the longest winning streak ever on Jeopardy!, has flubbed an answer or two. During his original run in 2004, one of his most memorable mistakes happened when he was answering a question in the "Tool Time" category. "This term for a long-handled gardening tool can also mean an immoral pleasure seeker," read late host Alex Trebek. Jennings, who had a commanding lead at the time, rang in with the response, "What's a hoe?" As the audience began to laugh, Trebek quipped, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! They teach you that in school in Utah, huh?" (The Chase cohost graduated from the state's Brigham Young University.) The Planet Funny author later found himself at the center of a Jeopardy! controversy when some of his old tweets resurfaced just before he began his first stint as a guest host for the show following Trebek's November 2020 death. “Nothing sadder than a hot person in a wheelchair,” read one tweet Jennings posted in 2014. [jwplayer wWJoUiRI-zhNYySv2] The former software engineer apologized for the posts, saying that they "worked as jokes" in his mind but didn't read so well on screen. "Sometimes I said dumb things in a dumb way and I want to apologize to people who were (rightfully!) offended," he tweeted in December 2020. "It wasn’t my intention to hurt anyone, but that doesn’t matter; I screwed up, and I’m truly sorry.” Jeopardy! proceeded with Jennings' gig as a guest host, but the Wall Street Journal later reported that the tweets may have cost him a job as Trebek's permanent replacement. In August 2021, Sony Pictures announced that executive producer Mike Richards would take over as the syndicated game show's permanent host, but Richards resigned days later after multiple of his own controversies. After Richards' departure, Mayim Bialik, who had been announced as the host for primetime and spin-off specials, began filling in as the show's interim host. The Big Bang Theory alum has since alternated with Jennings, who is still a consulting producer on the show. In July 2022, Variety reported that the dynamic duo will continue sharing hosting duties. Keep scrolling for a look back at some of the wildest and most controversial moments in Jeopardy! history. [podcast_block]

Credit: YouTube

'What's a Hoe?'

After Jennings' mishap, another contestant rang in with the correct answer: "What is a rake?"

Credit: YouTube

Not You, Kareem!

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar delighted viewers in 2009 when he incorrectly identified himself as the answer to this question: "Tell your old man to drag this '70s UCLA and Trail Blazer center (and Lanier!) up and down the court for 48 minutes." The clue did reference Abdul-Jabbar's cameo role in Airplane!, but the judges were looking for the subject of the quote. When the former Los Angeles Lakers player buzzed in to say, "Who is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?," an aghast Trebek yelled, "No!" When no one else rang in, the host explained, "You're the one who delivered the line but it was about Bill Walton. Embarrassing moments on Jeopardy!"

Credit: YouTube

Another Kareem Mishap

In 2012, the basketball icon landed back in the Jeopardy! mistake spotlight when he confidently named "X" as the movie rating missing from a list of the others. "You went in the wrong direction," Trebek quipped. "We were looking for a 'G' rating, not an 'X' rating. Remember, Kareem, this is a family show!"

Credit: YouTube

The Bane Guy

It was always tough to shock Trebek, but Craig Cornish Jr. did it in 2013 when he answered a question about The Dark Knight Rises while doing an impression of Tom Hardy's Bane voice. "You didn't have to act it out," quipped the host. "But I appreciate it!"

Credit: YouTube

A Major Misspelling

Kids Jeopardy! contestant Thomas Hurley III claimed he was "cheated" in 2013 after the judges did not accept his misspelling of "Emancipation Proclamation" as a correct answer. "It's just upsetting to have lost that way," he told the News-Times after the show aired. "I don't know why it would have counted as the wrong answer." (Another contestant spelled it correctly and wagered more money, so even if the judges had accepted Hurley's answer, he still would not have won.)

Credit: YouTube

The Age of Consent

In 2015, contestant Tom Imler went viral after he rang in with an incorrect answer to this question: "In common law, the age of this, signaling adulthood, is presumed to be 14 in boys and 12 in girls." After Imler guessed "the age of consent," social media users quickly dubbed his answer one of the most cringeworthy Jeopardy! moments of all time. (The correct answer was "puberty.")

Imler later said he was "a little embarrassed" by the gaffe, but he wasn't happy that some viewers assumed he was a "creepy" because of the mistake. "It pissed me off," he told the New York Daily News at the time. "It's 127,000 percent untrue. But when it started to snowball, I started to worry that people might think it was true. I started to think, 'Holy cow. What if one day I come home from work and there's a cop waiting outside my door?'"

Credit: YouTube

The Solo Final Jeopardy

Returning champion Kristin Sausville had to play Final Jeopardy by herself in 2015 after her two opponents landed in the red after Double Jeopardy. She got the question wrong, but she still won — and ultimately went on a five-game winning streak.

Credit: YouTube

The $1 Win

In October 2017, returning champ Manny Abell became one of the rare contestants to win a game with just $1. He entered Final Jeopardy in third place and got the question wrong, but so did his opponents — and both of them wagered poorly, which led to his victory.

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Alex Raps

"I was just getting into this rap thing. I'm not too good at it, but I was getting into it," Trebek said in 2017 after reading rap lyrics for the clues in a "Let's Rap, Kids!" category. While his renditions of Drake and Lil Wayne were memorable, his deadpan take on Desiigner's "Panda" was instantly legendary.

Credit: YouTube

Not Football Fans

Trebek engaged in some lighthearted ribbing during a 2018 episode when all three contestants failed to know anything tossing the pigskin. "Let's look at the $1,000 clue, just for the fun of it," he joked after no one answered any of the previous four questions in the "Talkin' Football" category. "If you guys ring in and get this one, I will die." (No one got it.)

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Trebek's Replacement

Richards resigned from his post as Trebek's permanent replacement after news broke that he had faced allegations of discrimination while working as an executive producer on The Price Is Right. “It pains me that these past incidents and comments have cast such a shadow on Jeopardy! as we look to start a new chapter,” he wrote in a memo to Sony staffers in August 2021. “As I mentioned last week, I was deeply honored to be asked to host the syndicated show and was thrilled by the opportunity to expand my role. However, over the last several days it has become clear that moving forward as host would be too much of a distraction for our fans and not the right move for the show. As such, I will be stepping down as host effective immediately. As a result, we will be canceling production today.”

Credit: Jeopardy Productions, Inc.

It's Just Regular 'Jeopardy'

Bialik learned not to mess with the formula in March 2022 when she referred to the first round of play as "Single Jeopardy." As longtime viewers pointed out, Trebek always called that round "Jeopardy." The Blossom alum promised she would go back to the original term after many social media complaints. “I will never do it again, even if it’s in the script. I will not say it,” she told Yahoo. “People cared a lot. I get it and I’m sorry. I’m doing my best.”

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Diana Ross Is Not 95

In March 2022, two contestants publicly apologized to Diana Ross after severely overestimating her age. The Supremes singer was 77 at the time, but Karen Johnson and Finn Corrigan both guessed her in response to this question: “In 2021 at age 95, this singer achieved a Guinness World Record for the oldest person to release an album of new material.”

The correct answer was Tony Bennett, who released his second duet album with Lady Gaga in September 2021. "Deepest apologies to the iconic Diana Ross! I didn’t really think you were the answer, but was running out of time and had to put something!" Johnson tweeted after the episode aired. "Me too!" added Corrigan. "I knew she was not nearly that old but better to write something than nothing. Just glad we’re in this together hahahaha."

Credit: ABC/Casey Durkin

Mayim’s Wardrobe Controversy

The Blossom alum received criticism in April 2022 after viewers noticed that she was wearing the same burnt orange blazer on two different episodes of the game show. "The story is I've worn everything more than once. But if you wear a burnt sienna cardigan blazer — you're going to wear it again,” Bialik told E! News’ Daily Pop. “That's right. There is a budget, people, on Jeopardy! I grew up with one bathroom till I was 15 and my brother was 19. We budget. We're gonna wear it again. And I'll wear it again!"

Bialik spoke with Drew Barrymore on The Drew Barrymore Show the same month about her choice to re-wear clothes on camera, noting that when the male hosts wear the same outfit, “It’s less noticeable.”

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Sir Who?

Contestant Mazin Omer delighted social media users when he mixed up two British icons during the "Knight After Knight" round in June 2022."To honor his father, this star here was knighted in his birth name, Sir Maurice Micklewhite," hist Biyalik read, as a picture of Michael Caine flashed on the screen. Omer, however, guessed that the man in question was Mick Jagger, which one fan declared "will love on" in the minds of Jeopardy! users as a historically bad answer.

Credit: NBC/YouTube

The Wrong Franchise

In June 2022, Bravo fans were devastated when contestants failed to correctly answer a Housewives question. "Kyle Richards, Lisa Rinna and Garcelle Beauvais get 'real,'" read the clue in a category titled "3 for the Show." One player rang in, but she guessed that the trio are from The Real Housewives of Orange County instead of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. After Rinna shared a video of the moment via Instagram, Andy Cohen replied in the comments section, "IDIOTS."

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Public Enemy Is Not the Funky Bunch

One player in a June 2022 episode mixed up Public Enemy with Mark Wahlberg's Funky Bunch in a category called "Chuck D, Times 3," but the real Chuck D wasn't too upset about it. "Everybody don’t know everything … it’s why I introduce myself wherever I go and whoever I talk to … it’s just courtesy," he tweeted. "But the sad thing is not knowing those other Chuck Ds." (The category also included questions about Charles Dickens and Charles Darwin.)

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Diana Ross, Still Not a Nonagenarian

Four months after two contestants guessed that Ross was 95 when she was 77, another player guessed that the Oscar nominee was 90. A July 2022 episode featured a category called “A Number Between 1 and 100,” with the following clue: “Your standard phonograph record until the 1950s, or the age Diana Ross turned in 2022." The answer was 78, but contestant Jake Marvin overestimated by 12 years. After the mixup, one social media user suggested that future Jeopardy! players should have to correctly state Ross' age before they're allowed to appear on the game show.

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No Swifties Here

In July 2022, Taylor Swift fans were outraged after all three players failed to identify the pop star's song "You Need to Calm Down" in a category called "Title That Completes the Rhyme." One Twitter user noted that former Jeopardy! champ Matt Amodio would have known the answer, as he previously identified the track as his favorite Swift song.  

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‘Who,’ Not ‘What’!

When Ike Barinholtz, Simu Liu and Iliza Shlesinger faced off on the October 2022 semifinal competition of Celebrity Jeopardy!, the Mindy Project alum found himself in hot water when he responded to a particular question about ethnicity. 

“October is the history month for this Asian-American ethnic group that includes Olivia Rodrigo and Jo Koy,” host Mayim Bialik asked, to which Barinholtz replied, “What are Filipinos?” 

While Bialik gave him the point, Liu stopped to point out the odd way Barinholtz phrased his answer, choosing to use the word "what" instead of "who."

“What do you mean, ‘What are Filipinos?’” the MCU star, who was playing for the charity Stop AAPI Hate, asked. “What do you mean by that, Ike?” The Suicide Squad actor, for his part, replied, “Oh my God, that's not what I meant! You have to answer in the form of a question.”

Liu then turned to Shlesinger and asked, “Did you hear him? I heard him.”

Credit: ABC

An Early Final Score

As host Mayim Bialik introduced the competitors on the March 8, 2023, episode of the High School Reunion Tournament, their final scores were briefly visible on the podiums.

While Jeopardy! quickly cut away from the contestants, the numbers flashed correlated with the final tally at the end of the episode.