‘Jeopardy!’ Star Ken Jennings Apologizes for ‘Insensitive’ Tweets and Jokes

Ken Jennings has apologized for past tweets that have resurfaced. The Jeopardy! champion who will host upcoming episodes of the show in wake of Alex Trebek’s death, went to Twitter Wednesday to issue an apology for “unartful and insensitive tweets” from a few years ago. One tweet that resurfaced was in 2014 (now deleted), which read, “Nothing sadder than a hot person in a wheelchair.”

“I just wanted to own up to the fact that over the years on Twitter, I’ve definitely tweeted some unartful and insensitive things,” Jennings wrote on Twitter. “Sometimes they worked as jokes in my head and I was dismayed to see how they read on screen. In the past, I’d usually leave bad tweets up just so they could be dunked on. At least that way they could lead to smart replies and even advocacy. Deleting them felt like whitewashing a mistake.

“But I think that practice may have given the impression I stand by every failed joke I’ve ever posted here. Not at all!” Jennings continued. “Sometimes I said dumb things in a dumb way and I want to apologize to people who were (rightfully!) offended. It wasn’t my intention to hurt anyone, but that doesn’t matter: I screwed up, and I’m truly sorry. If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that we should be kinder to one another. I look forward to heading into 2021 with that in mind.”

Jennings has been rumored to be the permanent host of Jeopardy!, but no official new host has been announced. Back in September, Jennings was hired to be a consulting producer for the game show, which was surprising for him because he thought he was done with the show after the Jeopardy! GOAT Tournament in January.

“It was a big surprise,” Jennings said in our PopCulture@Home series in November when talking about getting the call. “I assumed they would be putting me out to pasture. Like an athlete, I was realizing I was losing a step. I was getting a step slow. I won that last ring. I was getting happy to get the moment to take off my jersey.” Along with appearing on Jeopardy!, Jennings will appear on the upcoming ABC game show The Chase along with his Jeopardy! rivals, Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer in January.