From Taylor Swift Oops to 'Jeopardy!' Redemption: What Sparked This Unlikely Comeback?

‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Returns for Redemption After Taylor Swift Mishap

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Jeopardy!‘s hunk is back for a second chance, this time with a new strategy for the game. After becoming an instant fan favorite during his last appearance, Drew Goins returns to the game for the Second Chance Tournament. The blonde bombshell is looking for redemption after his Taylor Swift kerfluffle. Despite having bad blood with the Shakespearean Final Jeopardy question, Goins is coming back with a new perspective.

Speaking with TV Insider, he shared that he had received some sage advice from Jeopardy legend James Holzhauer. What was his advice? Kids encyclopedias. He shared, “In most Jeopardy! games, you only need to know the kind of top-level information about something, and kids’ encyclopedias have way more information than you would give them credit for, too.”

Drew Goins Doesn’t Have Anymore Bad Blood

For his first go at the show, Drew Goins revealed his strategy was filled with intense studying. He shared, “I did a lot of studying. A friend who had been on the show recommended this really excellent cultural reference dictionary. That’s kind of everything an American needs to know to be well-spoken at a smart person dinner party. There’s sections on the Bible, mythology, the arts, world history, American history, Shakespeare, all of this stuff that recurs over and over again on Jeopardy!”

For this second stint, he hit the books again. He revealed, “I definitely branched out more. There were some subjects that I felt weak on that I really wanted to shore up, like some movie history and a lot of pop culture before I was born. Movies, music, especially mid-century TV, that sort of thing, which was really hard for me. I just studied more.

Following Goins’ initial appearance, he was razzed by the Internet and his brother, a big Swiftie, for botching the Taylor Swift answer. And through the promo for his reappearance, he’s moved past the haunting moment, even if host Ken Jennings wanted to bring it up. He did get his redemption when he correctly answered, “What is 1989” for the game’s Taylor Swift question. Though, now the internet is taking to his wardrobe as the new line of attack. Whether he wins the second chance game or not, he will forever be a Jeopardy! icon. Jeopardy airs weeknight in syndication.

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