“Jeopardy!” fans are always quick to call out contestants for missing questions, but something about players failing to know pop culture icons seems to set viewers off even further.
In the past months, contestants failed to name country superstar Garth Brooks after being provided with a photo of him, and struggled to name hit songs by Taylor Swift, even when given multiple hints. And despite their impressive knowledge on a variety of other topics, the contestants were skewered mercilessly after these flubs aired.
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Countless “Jeopardy!” fans seem to enjoy criticizing contestants of the show for their wrong answers. (Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images)
Mac Miller
In an episode that aired last week, players were presented with a category called “New Jazz.” One of the clues read, “Jazz trumpeter Keyon Harrold can be heard on ‘Stay’ by this late rapper seen here.” A photo was shown of Mac Miller, a popular rapper who died in 2018.
All three contestants stayed silent after being given the clue, and several fans of the late musician took to social media to express their disbelief.
Mac Miller died of a mix of fentanyl, cocaine and ethanol, the coroner’s office revealed after his 2018 death. (AP)
“OH MY GOD they SHOWED a PICTURE of him for the Jeopardy clue and nobody got Mac Miller?!?” one person wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Another person reacted with “The clue on Jeopardy just now had a PHOTO of mac miller and none of these f—- even had a guess. SMH.”
“Jus watched three mfers on jeopardy not know who Mac Miller is. N these uncultured swines think they’re smart. They all should lose their winnings for such crimes,” another post read.
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Although he died young, Miller was undeniably successful in his career. He’d been steadily releasing music for 11 years when he died, and several of his songs went platinum. A posthumous album, “Circles,” was released in 2020, and it reached the No. 3 spot on the Billboard 200.
Rapper Mac Miller performs on his Space Migration Tour at Festival Pier in Philadelphia on July 13, 2013. (Owen Sweeney/Invision/AP, File)
In addition to the hit songs he created in the rap genre, Miller was also known for his love life. He dated pop superstar Ariana Grande from 2016 to 2018, and the couple split just months before his accidental overdose.
Garth Brooks
An episode that aired in November featured a category called “90s Music.” While contestants were able to easily answer other questions in the category, they got hung up on a clue that focused on the country genre.
The $800 clue in the category, which was given in Double Jeopardy, read, “This country superstar’s ‘Friends In Low Places’ was named CMA Single of the Year in 1991.” In addition to the written portion, the clue also contained a photo of the singer in question, Garth Brooks.
Garth Brooks had several hit country songs in the ’90s. (Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)
No one buzzed in with an answer, and host Ken Jennings seemingly reacted with surprise, saying, “Oh, how soon we forget.”
“Really???” a viewer asked on X as they watched. “We’re ALL screaming Garth Brooks.”
“How do these three not know who Garth Brooks is??” read another comment. “Even if you aren’t a country fan, he’s one of the most well-known music artists from the 90s.”
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One person wrote that they were “Yelling Garth Brooks” at their television, while another called the clue a “very easy triple stumper.”
“Friends in Low Places” is one of Garth Brooks’ most well-known songs. (Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)
The same week the episode aired, another person spoke out about the moment after seeing it on TikTok, showing surprise that “none of those nerds knew the answer.”
Taylor Swift
For the past several years, Taylor Swift has grown so popular that it seems nearly impossible not to know at least a little about her, but Kyra Sedgwick proved she hasn’t been listening to much of the singer’s music on a recent episode of “Celebrity Jeopardy!”
In a category called “Also a Taylor Swift Song,” contestants were given descriptions of various items – items that were, as the category suggested, also the names of Swift’s songs.
Kyra Sedgwick showed she wasn’t very familiar with Taylor Swift during her appearance on “Celebrity Jeopardy!” (Getty Images)
The first clue in the category read, “Careful! This washing machine cycle using cold water and low spin speed is suggested for lingerie and silk neckties.” The correct answer was “Delicate,” a track from Swift’s 2017 album “Reputation,” but Sedgwick answered with “What is ‘gentle’?”
Another clue was, “It’s not yours! It’s this word that comes before ‘craft’ and ‘sweeper’ in the names of popular video games.” Sedgwick rang in to attempt to solve that clue with “Mind” before her fellow contestant gave the correct response, which was “Mine.”
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The final clue in the category read, “While crossing the George Washington Bridge from New Jersey, drivers are greeted by a sign with these 4 words (it’s been waiting for you).” The actress guessed, “Where have you been?” but Jennings was looking for “Welcome to New York.”
Kyra Sedgwick, who has been married to actor Kevin Bacon since 1988, got quite a bit of attention for her performance on the game show. (Kevin Mazur/VF23/WireImage for Vanity Fair)
Sedgwick’s responses in this category got a lot of attention, with one particularly aggressive comment on X reading, “I don’t know who needs to hear this but watching celebrity jeopardy tonight showed me that Kyra Sedgwick is a f—ing idiot. That’s all.”
“Today I learned that Kyra Sedgwick is bad at Jeopardy and has also been living under a rock for 17 years,” another person joked.
One social media user asked, “Is it bad I lost some respect for Kyra Sedgewick after watching her take herself out of the game on Celebrity Jeopardy tonight?”
Led Zeppelin
Another recent episode included a clue about classic rockers Led Zeppelin. In a category called “Discographies,” the $400 clue showed a picture of the band, and Jennings named their 1973 album “Houses of the Holy,” but the players were all stumped.
Ken Jennings warned contestants about the reaction he thought they’d receive after they couldn’t recognize Led Zeppelin. (Getty Images)
After time ran out with no one buzzing in, Jennings said, “You have annoyed Led Zeppelin fans everywhere.”
Led Zeppelin was formed in 1968, and the original band consisted of Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and John Bonham – all names typically known by music fans.
They also released “Kashmir” and “Stairway to Heaven,” which are often considered two of the greatest rock songs of all time.
Because of this, “Jeopardy!” viewers had some passionate thoughts about the lack of recognition for the legendary band.
“NONE OF YOU IDIOTS ON JEOPARDY RECOGNIZED LED ZEPPELIN?” one person wrote on X.
English rock group Led Zeppelin posed circa 1969. Members of the group are, from left, John Paul Jones, John Bonham (bottom), Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. (GAB Archive/Redferns)
Another commented, “I just experienced another striking revelation about how old I must be getting: My utter shock that none of the contestants on today’s Jeopardy episode could identify Led Zeppelin from one of their publicity photos.”
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“I find it almost impossible, or a complete societal failure, to know for a fact that three humans standing within 10 feet of each other don’t know Led Zeppelin,” a fan stated.
“What kind of horrible uncultured lives have these people lived?” another asked.
Shakira
One “Jeopardy!” episode last year featured a category called “Musical Menagerie.” The $800 clue in this category was, “‘Nocturnal creatures are not so prudent, the moon’s my teacher and I’m her student’ is from her song called ‘She Wolf.’”
That song is one of the more well-known pieces in pop singer Shakira’s catalog, and once again, the clue also featured a visual aid, as contestants were shown a video of Shakira performing.
Shakira was mistaken for Sia by one “Jeopardy!” contestant. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images for MTV)
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David Bederman, a returning champion, took a shot at answering this one, but instead of naming the right singer, he guessed Sia, another popular singer who bears no resemblance to Shakira beyond the fact that their names start and end with the same letters.
“David confusing Sia for THE SHAKIRA is egregious,” a viewer complained on X.
“This man on jeopardy just guessed sia and it was fully SHAKIRA!!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DONT KNOW SHAKIRA?!!” another fan of the “Hips Don’t Lie” singer wrote.
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Another comment read, “The guy on jeopardy thought shakira was sia??? Where do they find these people?”
