After the death of beloved Jeopardy host Alex Trebek, the public voiced their opinions on who should host the long-running game show. Everyone from Levar Burton to CNN’s Anderson Copper to iconic actress Betty White have been named as potential replacements. One of the most popular suggestions is one who recently revisited Jeopardy and came out on top yet again – 74-time Jeopardy champion Ken Jennings. The champion will guest host starting early next year. With his hosting stint weeks away, Ken Jennings took to social media to apologize for past offensive tweets.
Ken Jennings’ name has become ingrained in pop culture for years over his impressive game show run. The Jeopardy champion could be the perfect host, given his intellect and history with the iconic game show. But over the years, the game champion has come under fire for his tweets mocking incidents, including Barron Trump and deceased Star Wars fan Daniel Fleetwood. Jennings took to Twitter to make a formal apology for those tweets before his host stint.
Hey, I just wanted to own up to the fact that over the years on Twitter, I've definitely tweeted some unartful and insensitive things. Sometimes they worked as jokes in my head and I was dismayed to see how they read on screen. In the past, I'd usually leave bad tweets up just so they could be dunked on. At least that way they could lead to smart replies and even advocacy. Deleting them felt like whitewashing a mistake. But I think that practice may have given the impression I stand by every failed joke I've ever posted here. Not at all! Sometimes I said dumb things in a dumb way and I want to apologize to people who were (rightfully!) offended. It wasn't my intention to hurt anyone, but that doesn't matter: I screwed up, and I'm truly sorry. If 2020 has taught us anything, it's that we should be kinder to one another. I look forward to heading into 2021 with that in mind.
Ken Jennings had received backlash for his tweets in the past with little to no apology for them. With Jennings’ Jeopardy stint just around the corner, the Jeopardy champion had to clean house and get in front of the story before his episodes start airing next year.
Ken Jennings’ historic winning streak on Jeopardy began on June 2, 2004 before coming to a shocking end on Nov. 4, 2004. His streak led to an increase in the game show’s ratings and setting the Guinness World Record for “the most cash won on a game show” with $2,522,700. He has returned over the years to participate in many Jeopardy tournaments, including 2020’s Jeopardy – The Greatest of All Time.
With that said, Ken Jennings, like many people, can grow and change as he has matured over the years. Here’s hoping that Jennings’ actions speak louder than his words as his Jeopardy episodes begin airing on Jan. 11, 2021 after Trebek's final episodes starting on Jan. 4.
