Photo: Jeopardy Productions, Inc.
After a couple of months of Mayim Bialik guest hosting Jeopardy, and all the while making headlines for getting emotional, making a mistake and accepting partial answers, Ken Jennings is back to being the guest host, and already he too has gotten some press.
It happened when he made a crude quip during the Double Jeopardy round this week. In the category "Active Bible Verses," Ken read the clue, "Since no one had done this for 40 years, God told Joshua to get a knife & do this to male Israelites." A contestant named Erica responded, "What is circumcise?" Jennings jokingly responded, "That is correct. A painful $2,000 for you."
The players weren't sure how to respond to the joke, but those watching the show clearly appreciated it. One tweeted, "@Jeopardy @KenJennings 'A painful $2,000 for you.' Thank you. Welcome back. You were missed." Another wrote, "'A painful $2,000 for you.' @KenJennings continuing to be one of my favorite humans ever. @Jeopardy has the easiest decision in their hands," suggesting Ken should become the show's permanent host. Someone else agreed stating, "Ken Jennings just made a circumcision joke on Jeopardy. Make him the official host already."
It should be noted that during her time on the show, Mayim also made an off-color joke, but the reaction to hers was very different. It took place in a category called "Ripped From The Headlines" after she read the clue, "Marijuana issue sent to this 'committee' generally composed of members of both houses of a legislature." When no one responded correctly, Mayim announced the right response, stating, "Joint committee," adding, "Get it?" It was followed by some nervous laughter and lots of hate on Twitter.
One person wrote, "Oh, but won’t the #Jeopardy writers PLEASE think of the children watching, and their delicate ears that were just exposed to a cannabis reference?" to which someone replied, "Hopefully they didn't get it." Another viewer tweeted, "Marijuana? Joint? Har de har har..." and someone else said, "That physically hurt."
No word yet on who will become the show's permanent host but Ken does seem to be the frontrunner.