‘Jeopardy!’ Fans React After Kenny Rogers Question Stumps Contestants

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What To Know

All three Jeopardy! contestants were stumped by a clue about Kenny Rogers, prompting strong reactions from fans and an explanation from contestant Josh Chen about blanking on the answer.
Harrison Whitaker maintained his lead throughout the game, successfully answering a Daily Double and finishing with a seven-day total of $208,201 to return for his eighth game.
The Final Jeopardy clue about Chewbacca was a triple stumper, with none of the contestants providing the correct response.

[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Wednesday, November 19, episode of Jeopardy!]

A clue about Kenny Rogers stumped the Jeopardy! contestants. Fans reacted to them not getting it right, but one of the contestants gave an explanation.

Harrison Whitaker, from Terre Haute, Indiana, returned for his seventh game on November 19 with a six-day total of $182,600. For his seventh game, the researcher played against Matylda Urbaniak, from Queens, New York, and Josh Chen, from Arlington, Virginia.

Whitaker and Chen, a stay-at-home dog dad, were neck and neck for first place. Whitaker had $3,200, and Chen had $3,400 ahead of the last clue before the commercial break. However, the fifteenth clue stumped everyone, causing an uproar from fans.

In “The County Line,” the clue was “‘Coward Of The County’ was a No. 3 hit for this country star & roast chicken magnate,” along with a photo of him. None of the game show contestants buzzed in.

“Oh, and he looks so good there. Who is Kenny Rogers? I need to take a moment to just feel old,” host Ken Jennings said. The audience laughed.

“Never consumed his music or his chicken, and I still knew Kenny Rogers,” a Reddit user said.

“Was also surprised no one got Kenny Rogers. Very good game and congrats to the players,” another wrote.

“That’s before their time,” a third added.

However, Chen set the record straight and explained why he didn’t answer the clue. “I’m the aforementioned dog dad. I saw the pic of Kenny Rogers and thought Oh, it’s The Gambler singer, Kenny…and then blanked. The only Kenny I could think of was Kenny Loggins, which I knew wasn’t right, but I was so stuck on it not being Kenny Loggins, I couldn’t pull the last name,” he said.

Two clues after the Kenny Rogers fiasco, Whitaker found the Daily Double. He had the lead with $4,200 and wagered $1,000. In “&/Or”,” the clue read, “Quell & suppress, or a racquet sport.” He answered, “What is forestall?” which was wrong. Whitaker dropped down to $3,200. The correct response was Squash.

By the end of the round, Whitaker had the lead with $5,200. Chen was in second place with $4,800. Urbaniak, a law student, had $3,600.

In Double Jeopardy, Chen found the first Daily Double. He had $4,400 and made it a true Daily Double.

“Ok. Wow,” Ken Jennings said.

In “Titles In History,” the clue read, “Though he runs Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman still has this 2-word royal title as on tape day his father continues to live & reign.” He answered correctly with “What is the Crown Prince?” giving him $8,800.

Whitaker found the last Daily Double a few clues later. He had $16,400 and wagered $5,400. In “20th Century Novels That Got Filmed,” the clue was “In a 1972 novel, Joanna tries to shake up the wives of this suburb but ends up as glassy-eyed as the rest.” “What is Stepford?” he answered correctly. This brought Whitaker’s total to $21,800.

At the end of the round, Whitaker had $26,600. Chen had $12,800. Urbaniak was in third place with $5,200.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “Movie Characters.” The clue read, “The novelization of a 1977 movie awarded this character a medal at the end, righting a perceived wrong.” It was a Triple Stumper as none of the contestants could think of Chewbacca.

Urbaniak wrote “Who is Skywalker?” She wagered $0 and ended with $5,200. Chen’s response was “Who is hi, mom, dad, + jem?” He was clearly wrong and dropped down to $$12,795 after wagering $5. Whitaker first wrote “Who is Chewb?” and then crossed it out. He decided to go with “Who is Princess Leia?” He wagered $999, giving him a final total of $25,601.

Whitaker had a seven-day total of $208,201. He will return on Thursday for game eight.

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