Ken Jennings makes surprising comment about ‘going either way’ during Celebrity Jeopardy! match as fans are left divided

KEN Jennings has buzzed in with what seemed to some fans like a new personal detail while hosting Celebrity Jeopardy!

When introducing a category titled: “I can go Either Way,” the champ-turned-host said it was a “fun fact about me.”

Ken Jennings added a comment that he said was about himself while presenting this categoryCredit: ABC

He said it was a ‘fun fact about me’ and added: ‘A lot of people don’t know that’Credit: ABC

The contestants laughed as internet users wondered if he was joking, others posted: ‘Congrats!’
Former champion Ken Jennings, 49, is hosting Celebrity Jeopardy! this year instead of Mayim Bialik, 47.

Melissa Fumero (Amy Santiago on Brooklyn Nine-Nine) faced Shane Battier (former NBA player who won two rings for the Miami Heat) and Steven Weber (Wings), who competed back in 1992.

Ken was presenting the categories for the new Triple Jeopardy! round and introduced one by adding an interesting side comment.

The category read: “‘I’ can go either way.”

Before introducing it, Ken prefaced it with: “Fun act about me” and then read the category name.

The camera cut to the crowd and contestants laughing as Ken said: “A lot of people don’t know that.”

Fans wondered if Ken was just adding some flair to the episode or if he had shared a major detail in the most Ken way possible – on the Jeopardy! stage.

‘ANYONE ELSE CATCH THAT?’

“@KenJennings congrats!!!” one person wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

“Came to Twitter to see if anyone else caught that,” wrote another.

A third wrote: “Right? Can’t be taken another way? My wife and rewound it to hear again.”

A fourth wrote: “lol, we did too! It must be what he meant.”

Other fans posted about the comment more straightforwardly: “Did Ken Jennings just come out?”

“Man’s a walking Daily Double,” speculated another in Jeopardy!-speak.

The host has never publically mentioned anything in this regard.

Ken – who went on Jeopardy!’s still-record 74-game run in 2004 – is married to Mindy Jennings and they share two children.

The couple met while they were both in college at Bringham Young University in Provo, Utah, and were married soon after graduation.

Meanwhile, Melissa struggled to get out of the red for the entire game, while Steven won in a runaway with an uncatchable lead.

He’ll now advance to the semi-finals of the tournament-based special, where he could win $1 million (for charity).

Fans can view the clip above and decide if Ken was hinting at something.

Fans were thrown by the Jeopardy! legend’s comment that was quietly snuck in on Celebrity Jeopardy!Credit: Instagram/johnroderick
Fans may remember an exchange with rival James Holzhauer (who lost to Ken in the 2020 GOAT tournament thus Ken’s GOAT status) during Jeopardy! Masters.

A clue read: “The Detroit Free Press said ‘The Mummy’ was ‘vintage’ this novelist; ‘elegantly erotic and full of enchanting terror.'”

Matt Amodio incorrectly responded: “What’s Stoker,” to which host Ken joked: “I also refer to James as “elegantly erotic but full of enchanting terror.”

The contestants and studio audience laughed as Ken then provided the correct answer of “Anne Rice.”

Before the show could move on, James quickly quipped back: “Keep it in your pants, Ken.”

WHAT IS: THE FORMAT?

Celebrity Jeopardy! Season 2 airs on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Hulu.

The special is in a tournament style where the winner each week advances to the semifinals.

During the premiere, Utkarsh Ambudkar (Ghosts) advanced by just $4 against filmmaker Mark Duplass and a painfully bad Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek).

In the second act, Parent Trap’s Lisa Ann Walter, who grew up on the show with her mom, also advanced.

Last week, sportscaster Katie Nolan laid down the Law (and Order) against SVU’s Christopher Meloni in an unforgettable match that came down to a rare tiebreaker clue.

“My fast twitchy muscles in my thumb were not as fast and twitchy as hers. She got the answer first,” Meloni exclusively told The U.S. Sun. “Next time!”

There will be nine quarterfinal matches and three semi-final episodes, which will occur after the quarterfinals finish.

The semis will whittle the competition to the top three for a one-episode final faceoff.

The episodes are an hour long, and the winner gets $1million (for charity).

Last year, actor Ike Barenholtz won, and in a first, he’ll also be in the next Tournament of Champions.

Executive Producer Michael Davies has rolled out a few major changes to the spinoff, including a Triple Jeopardy round and a split-screen clue selection display, which has divided fans.

BIALIK BREAKS FROM JEOPARDY!

Last year, Mayim hosted the entirety of the special – which returned for the first time since 2015 and without the late host Alex Trebek.

This time, Ken is replacing Mayim as the host for the entire special.

She walked out of Jeopardy! after May’s Writers Guild of America strikes and hasn’t been on-screen since.

The former Blossom star is a member of the still striking actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA.

“It’s not for me to personally judge anyone else’s decision [but] I am a union supporter,” Mayim told Vanity Fair on Friday in her first public statement.