When you get an answer wrong on a TV game show in front of a national audience, people will notice and people will mock. Many Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune have had embarrassing moments take over their run on the show, something this latest contestant is sure to learn after their answer went viral.
On Monday’s Jeopardy!, the Final Jeopardy category was revolving around singers and a specific 95-year-old singer that achieved a Guinness World Record in 2021 after releasing a new album of original material. The correct answer is Tony Bennett, but somehow two separate contestants guessed another music legend as the answer.
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Finn Corrigan and Karen Johnson both guess Diana Ross as the answer, leaving Johnson with $7,999 or around half of her $15,000 earnings and leaving Corrigan with nothing. “To be fair, you’re only 75 years younger than Tony Bennett,” Ken Jennings teased Corrigan. “Generationally, it’s a bit of a stretch.”
Margaret Chipowsky went from third place to victory due to the right answer, closing the night with $18,800 and knocking Corrigan out of the champion position. But the real turn that got the internet riled up involved the contestant truly feeling that 77-year-old Diana Ross was actually 95. That said, Ross did release the album Thank You in 2021. It also stood as her first original album since 1999 with Every Day is a New Day.
Folks following the show quickly flowed to social media to react to the moment, including a few views into what Ross might look like after seeing the guesses. “Last week, a Jeopardy contestant thought Aretha Franklin was in the Supremes. Tonight, two out of three contestants thought Diana Ross was the answer to: In 2021, what 95 year old singer released an album of new material?” one person wrote. “These are surely signs of the apocalypse.”
The moment also made it back around to the folks who were featured on the show. Johnson tweeted about the moment and apologized to Ross for the gaffe. “Deepest apologies to the iconic Diana Ross!” Johnson wrote. “I didn’t really think you were the answer, but was running out of time and had to put something!”
But the true winner has to be the person running Tony Bennett’s account who made sure to celebrate the singer’s appearance as a Jeopardy answer. If Bennett starts making jokes about Diana Ross, it’ll truly be a special moment.
