‘Jeopardy!’ Champ Chuckles On Air After Mixing Up Scott Hamilton And Mary Lou Retton: “I Did Lose My Glasses”

By Alex Vena
Published Feb. 24, 2024, 10:30 a.m. ET

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Not only did Jeopardy! fans get a kick out of a slip-up made on Thursday night’s (Feb. 22) Wildcard Finals. So did the contestant who made the error.

According to the New York Post, contestants Deb Bilodeau, Jesse Matheny, and Mira Hayward were met with the following clue in the “40 Years Ago, 1984” category: “At the Winter Olympics, this American won gold with a four-and-a-half minute program that featured multiple triple jumps.”

The three opponents were also shown a picture of the correct individual, figure skater Scott Hamilton, with a medal around his neck.

Bilodeau offered up a surprising answer.

“Who is Mary Lou Retton?” they guessed, referring to the Olympic gymnast.

After neither Matheny nor Hayward could scrounge up an answer, Ken Jennings eventually told the three contestants, “Who is Scott Hamilton, actually.”

Upon learning of their mistake, Bilodeau let out a chuckle and covered their mouth, saying, “Sorry!”

Bilodeau certainly isn’t the first contestant to be stumped by a clue even after being shown a picture; last month, no contestant was able to identify the late rapper, Mac Miller. However, Bilodeau eventually expressed their “apologies” to Hamilton later on in the episode, and offered up an excuse.

“I did lose my glasses the day before I came down here,” they shared. “My boyfriend was trying to get me to buy glasses here so that’s that.”

Nonetheless, Bilodeau still bested both Hayward and Matheny — the latter of whom correctly answered a rather tricky Final Jeopardy question on Wednesday night’s (Feb. 21) semi-finals — and will now move on to the Tournament of Champions, per Entertainment Weekly.

In typical Jeopardy! fan fashion, fans rushed to X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) to share their reactions.

One claimed that they “couldn’t keep a straight face,” while another said they were “cracking up hard.” Another fan deemed it an “all time funny Jeopardy! botch.”

According to EW, Hamilton recently spoke to People about opting out of treatment for his benign brain tumor — his third to date — for the time being, until he begins experiencing symptoms. In addition to having surgeries for his first two, he battled testicular cancer in 1997, per People.

As for Retton, she talked to The Today Show‘s Hoda Kotb last month about being diagnosed with a rare, near-fatal form of pneumonia last October, and ending up in the ICU for a month.

Jeopardy! airs on weeknights at 7/6c. Check out their website for your local listings. The Tournament of Champions kicks off on Feb. 23.