DANGER! host Ken Jennings was criticized by fans for apparently asking a contestant an unfair question.
The moment happened during Thursday’s episode of Jeopardy!
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Returning champion Adriana Harmeyer faced newcomers Hakme Lee and Mike Flanagan.
In Daily Double 3, Ken, 50, asked Mike to select the next category, which he chose “Foreign Words and Phrases.”
“In KFPU (‘Kung Foo Panda’ Universe), Dustin Hoffman voices this role, Mandarin for ‘Master,’” the clue read.
Mike quickly rang the doorbell and replied, “What is Sifu?”
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However, Ken said that his answer was incorrect, bringing a look of disappointment to Mike’s face.
SO CLOSE!
The host passed the question on to Adriana and Hakme, both of whom looked confused and unable to answer.
Ken then revealed that although Mike’s answer wasn’t correct, he was close, with the proper answer being “What’s Shifu?”
At this point, Mike had deposited $800, placing third against his opponents.
The Massachusetts native fought his way to the front throughout the rest of the game, finishing in third place with $5,126.
Hakme took second place with $6,200, and Adriana continued her winning streak with another first place victory, finishing with $19,800.
Fans reacted to the result on social media, with many believing Mike was given an unfair chance.
“Mike got screwed sifu/shifu,” wrote another person on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Shi and si are almost indistinguishable in Mandarin,” they added.
The conversation continued on a dedicated Jeopardy message board, where fans expressed their thoughts on the accident.
Danger! Host timeline
Danger! has had a tumultuous history regarding hosts following the death of the iconic Alex Trebek in 2020. Here are every host since the game show’s inception in 1964.
Art Fleming – from 1964 to 1975, he was the original host of the daytime version of Jeopardy! on NBC.
Alex Trebek – From 1984 to 2020, the late, great Alex hosted the modern iteration of Jeopardy! for 36 years until his death from pancreatic cancer.
Guest Hosts – 2020 to 2021, Jeopardy! tested a series of guest hosts for one- or two-week stints, including Anderson Cooper, LaVar Burton and Aaron Rodgers.
Mike Richards – 2021, he was named host for a week before resigning amid controversy. He was the show’s executive producer at the time.
Mayim Bialik – 2021 to 2023, when Mike was announced as the show’s new host, Mayim was chosen to host tournaments and primetime specials.
Mayim and Ken Jennings – 2022 to 2023, 74-time champion Ken (the winningest contestant of all time) joined Mayim as guest host and they shared hosting duties.
Ken Jennings – 2023 to present. Last December, Mayim announced on Instagram that she would “no longer” host Jeopardy! After a long hiatus, having defended the writers’ strike, Ken was named sole host.
Ken now runs all editions of Jeopardy! including Celebrity Jeopardy!, the late night show and other primetime specials such as Masters.
“I think the writers probably intended it to be complicated, especially if you’re not familiar with the differences between dialects,” said one person in the thread.
“I didn’t think it was fair to consider his answer incorrect,” another person wrote about Mike mispronouncing Shifu.
Another called out Ken for apparently mispronouncing the word.
Ken was repeatedly criticized by viewers for his mistakes on the show.
Danger! producers even criticized Ken for his actions outside of the studio, claiming he “swooped” on people while playing trivia at a local bar.
Ken previously hosted the show with actress Mayim Bialik, 48, until she left the podium last May.
He now hosts solo, taking the place of the late Jeopardy! host, Alex Trebek.
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