An embarrassed “Jeopardy!” contestant mistook iconic US male figure skater Scott Hamilton for legendary Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton, leaving fans stunned on Thursday night’s episode.
San Francisco Bay Area contestant Deb Bilodeau, joined by their opponents Jesse Matheny and Mira Hayward, had been given the category of “40 Years Ago 1984” for $800.
When cameras panned to the board, a youthful-looking Hamilton on the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo was displayed on screen.
The contestants needed to guess what American on the Winter Olympics won gold with a four-and-a-half-minute program featuring triple jumps.
Bilodeau quickly rang their buzzer before anyone else could and said, “Who’s Mary Lou Retton?”
Bilodeau’s fellow contestants couldn’t provide you with a guess in the following seconds, which prompted host Ken Jennings to disclose the reply, “Who’s Scott Hamilton?”
The restaurant server then covers their mouth in embarrassment, while Matheny seemingly smirks at his competitor’s response.
Bilodeau apologized to the skating legend for the embarrassing mistake near the top of the show and blamed themselves for not wearing glasses.
“Apologize to Scott Hamilton. I did lose my glasses the day before I got here down here,” Bilodeau quipped to justify her wild answer. “My boyfriend was attempting to get me to purchase glasses here in order that’s that.”
Fans on social media were appalled by Bilodeau’s off-the-grid answer.
“Someone on Jeopardy! just thought a photograph of Scott Hamilton was Mary Lou Retton I’ve been wheezing for five minutes” a Jeopardy! fan on X wrote.
“Who’s Mary Lou Retton? Scott Hamilton is wincing somewhere right away🤣,” one other shocked wrote.
“I literally spit out a mouthful of wine!!,” one person said.
The clue snafu follows Hamilton revealing the newest in his ongoing health issues earlier this week.
The previous Olympian, who won a gold medal in 1984, said he’ll hold off on treating his third brain tumor until symptoms start to indicate, in keeping with an interview with People on Wednesday.
Hamilton underwent surgery twice for cancer found in his brain between 2004 and 2010.
Retton, 56, is the retired American gymnast who famously won gold in the person all-around competition on the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Retton also has handled frightening health issues.
The previous gymnast, who famously won gold in the person all-around competition on the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, developed a really rare type of pneumonia and landed in the UC for a month last 12 months.