Jeopardy is full of geniuses, but they don’t always get it right, and host Ken Jennings had to issue an apology to viewers.
In the episode from October 17, the viral John Pork meme became the center of debate among viewers.
The character came up in the question for the category “Daddy, is there really a…”
“No: A.I. generated the TikTok image of this pig/human eventually killed by Tim Cheese,” read the clue.
None of the contestants was able to correctly guess the internet character, and even Jennings chimed in, saying, “I didn’t understand any of that.”
When the moment was shared on social media, production was quickly corrected by fans who noted that John Pork appeared online as early as 2018. At the time, AI-generative tools were not widely accessible to the public. Although many social media users might use AI tools to create new memes with the character, it wouldn’t have been the case back then.
Following the outcry from Jeopardy fans, Jennings shared an apology to John Pork.
“When we played a clue recently on Jeopardy on John Pork, I remarked that I didn’t understand a word of it,” a seemingly joking Jennings said in a TikTok response video. “Well, I’ve had a chance to learn quite a bit about the late Mr. Pork, including the fact that some viewers took exception with our description of him as ‘AI-generated.’”
He continued, “Now, even though AI is used heavily in many of his TikToks, it’s possible that wasn’t the best wording to refer to his original appearances. John, I hope you’ll forgive me and all of us at Jeopardy for any insult we may have committed against you or your memory.”
Watch the apology in the video below.