This Movie-Related ‘Jeopardy!’ Response Deserves a Daily Double of Cringe

Although Jeopardy! assembles three of the brightest and most intelligent people in America on one stage, there is still room for awkward gaffes during game time. The beloved trivia game show asks a lot out of its contestants, such as tapping the buzzer within a fraction of a second, phrasing their answers in the form of a question, and making wagers on their earnings. The intensity of the competition and the limelight of the Alex Trebek Stage are sure to cause blunders, including awkwardly amusing blunders that are as funny as anything on television. There’s enough pressure to make anyone crack, including six-time NBA champion Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in one episode of Celebrity Jeopardy! Abdul-Jabbar’s hilarious slip-up involving a clue about the MPAA ratings for movies is a cringe-inducing moment that veered the family-friendly show into obscene territory.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a Recurring ‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant and Show Advocate

Just as famous as the impressive lineup of super-champs in Jeopardy! history is the vast industry of ill-advised responses by contestants. It’s easy to make fun of these people sitting on our couch, as, for a very brief moment, we carry a sense of superiority over these geniuses. With celebrities, we feel even more comfortable ridiculing these fails on the stage. Notable celebrity Jeopardy! contestants include recent Ike Barinholtz, Andy Richter, Patton Oswalt, and Will Wheaton.

One of the most prominent celebrity figures to grace the Jeopardy! stage also happens to be one of the titans of professional sports in modern times, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The basketball center for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, a recurring contestant on the show, has advocated for Jeopardy! as a culturally vital proponent of the arts and intelligence. In an op-ed for The Hollywood Reporter, advocating the significance of a host during the show’s complicated succession plan following Trebek’s death, he wrote that it was a “paragon of game shows as well as a thumbed nose at perpetual complaints that television is just a vast wasteland.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s ‘Jeopardy!’ Blunder Mistakes a “G” Rating for an “X” Rating

During one match on Celebrity Jeopardy! in 2012, Abdul-Jabbar, facing off against former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino and journalist and future guest host David Faber, had a Hall of Fame moment that remains one of the funniest, if not cringe-inducing, responses in show history. In a category titled “The Five,” the $200 clue read “The 5 movie ratings in the U.S. are NC-17, R, PG, PG-13, and this one.” For veteran theater-goers, this answer is a layup, but for the former basketball star, it turned out to be a half-court shot. First to buzz in, Abdul-Jabbar confidently responds, “What is ‘X’?” The audience laughs uproariously after being denied by Trebek, as Perino and Faber don’t buzz in, perhaps because they were distracted. “YOU went in the wrong direction!” Trebek responds, a master of quick-wit. “We were looking for a ‘G’ rating, not an ‘X’ rating! Remember, Kareem, this is a family show!” the host continued.

Beyond the basic play-by-play of what occurred on screen, this Jeopardy! fail features priceless beats of unintentional comedy. For one, 7’2″ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar towering over Perino and Faber on the stage is an innocuous but humorous sight gag. The cold, blunt tone in which Abdul-Jabbar delivers his “X” response is deliciously juxtaposed with the light, wholesome atmosphere of the show. Considering that the X-rating, replaced by the NC-17 rating in 1990, is the polar opposite of the answer’s correct response, a G-rating, Abdul-Jabbar’s response was shocking for audiences in person and at home. As usual, Trebek’s sharp sense of humor and willingness to throw mild jabs at the contestants, no matter how prestigious they are, cemented this moment.

Going down the wrong direction in the MPAA ratings was not Kareem’s lone memorable slip-up on Jeopardy! In 2009, in a showdown between Soledad O’Brien and Celebrity Jeopardy! staple Michael McKean, Abdul-Jabbar received a clue that was practically an alley-oop to the big man. The answer should’ve felt like déjà vu for Abdul-Jabbar, as it was quoting his famous line from Airplane! where he ragged on his UCLA teammate, Bill Walton, who was the correct response. However, Abdul-Jabbar, confident that the joke was that the answer would be himself, proudly responded, “Who is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?” He may wish he had a mulligan, but the NBA icon and social activist can take solace in being the focal point of Jeopardy!‘s most hilarious gaffes. Jeopardy! is available to stream in the U.S. on YouTube TV.

Watch on YouTube TV