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The US Sun
Jeopardy! players suffer ‘cringe’ fail as Ken Jennings mocks moment in ‘awkward’ season premiere’
By Darian Lusk,
4 hours ago
JEOPARDY!’s new season premiered tonight, and the players suffered a fail on a clue that host Ken Jennings couldn’t resist buzzing in on just minutes in.
Rachel Bradley , the one-day champ before the summer hiatus, returned to face Amanda White and Adam Reiffen.
The Jeopardy! clue in question was looking for ‘nudity’ ABC Adam (center) guessed ‘swearing?’ and Amanda ‘Going to the bathroom?’ ABC Ken Jennings told the players over audience laughter: ‘I think I am happy not to hear a third guess on this one’ ABC
Tonight was a big one for Jeopardy! fans, as the game show was back with Season 41 after six weeks of patience and reruns.
But it didn’t take long for viewers to get their first uncomfortable triple-stumper of the new season .
The Jeopardy! round clue under “Parenting” for $600 read: “Is this OK in front of your kids? Ali Wentworth & Heidi Klum have publicly said it is for them & theirs.”
Adam incorrectly guessed: “What is swearing?”
After he was deemed incorrect, Amanda boldly guessed, “What is going to the bathroom?”
After the timer ran out, and Ken Jennings had a cheeky joke ready as the audience was nervously laughing.
“I think I am happy not to hear a third guess on this one,” the host said with a shrug.
Ken revealed the correct response was “nudity,” or being naked in front of one’s kids as the contestants giggled.
FANS REACT TO ‘NUDITY’ FAIL
Fans took to social media, dubbing the moment a “cringe” start to the season.
“Cringe start to #Jeopardy in the Parenting category,” wrote one X user.
“Nudity!!! Tonight’s first scream! #Jeopardy,” wrote another.
“Bribing, swearing, and going to the bathroom. Perhaps CPS should check with these families,” joked a third.
“I went there too, Amanda, lol,” wrote a fourth.
Shortly after, Ken asked for the name of Annie’s adoptive dad in the musical Annie, which Amanda guessed was: “Sugar daddy.”
When Rachel correctly identified him as “Daddy Warbucks,” Ken joked, “Just a little different.”
Here’s how the episode went gameplay-wise and speedbumps aside:
“Welcome to an all-new season of Jeopardy!. We are just thrilled to be here on the Alex Trebek stage,” he declared.
After the Jeopardy! round, San Deigo-based Naval officer Adam took command with $4,800, Rachel $2,800, and Amanda (dropping $1000 on the Daily Double) $800.
In Double Jeopardy!, Adam dropped $3,000 from his leading score on the second Daily Double, unable to come up with “estates.” Amanda missed the remaining Daily Double, which was “influenza.”
But Adam still led at every commercial break and into Final Jeopardy! with $10,600, Rachel with $8,000 and Amanda at $4,000.
Final Jeopardy! concerned “FAMOUS WOMEN” and was: “Before her death in 2022, she pledged her collection of more than 200 pins to the National Museum of American Diplomacy.”
Only Adam was correct with “Madeleine Albright,” adding $5,401 to win with $16,001.
He was left with a big grin and will return on Tuesday’s episode to go for his second win.
GET CLUED IN ON SEASON 41
Jeopardy! has risen from its summer slumber with the premiere of Season 41.
Season 41 will last 11 months and air every weeknight (even holidays) from tonight until Friday, July 25, 2025.
While Jeopardy! isn’t getting the head-spinning overhaul happening with Wheel of Fortune ; there are still many changes in store.
Ken hosts all of Season 41; for the first time, he will be the game show’s sole official host.
The former champion hosted the entire previous season, but Mayim Bialik was still technically an official co-host.
After a lengthy hiatus, the actress was dismissed from the syndicated series in December 2023.
However, she was still listed on the show’s website, that is, until this summer reruns.
In other words, for the first and last chunks of the season, or roughly two-thirds, fans will see fresh faces instead of past players.
Fans recently took to a Season 41-dedicated Reddit thread celebrating the switchback.
“It will be a better season without the overdoing of ‘tournaments,'” one fan wrote.
“Not going to name names but I could go the rest of my Jeopardy life never seeing 6-8 people ever again,” wrote another.
Celebrity Jeopardy! Season 3 also airs in the winter, not the fall like the past two years (Ken has not been confirmed as host).
Other changes this season include a future move to streaming and the addition of Pop Culture Jeopardy! hosted by Colin Jost on Amazon Prime Video (premiere date TBA).
Jeopardy! airs weeknights at 7 p.m. Eastern – check your local listings.
From there, Adam went on a roll and was the only one correct with ‘Madeliene Albright’ ABC He’ll return tomorrow and is Season 41’s first champion ABC
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