Twitter Roasts ‘Jeopardy’ Contestant For Thinking Kobe Bryant Died In 2016: “Stupidest Final Jeopardy Answer I’ve Ever Seen”

One Jeopardy contestant is probably kicking himself over his Final Jeopardy answer. On tonight’s episode, the three contestants faced off for one final question, and returning champion Phillip Howard’s incorrect response is getting him roasted on Twitter by tonight’s viewers.

When it came down to the last question of the night, the category was “Famous Americans.” Before reading off the clue, host Alex Trebek warned the competitors, “Sounds like an easy category, but it’s very, very broad.” And it didn’t prove to be an easy one for Phillip. When promoted with the clue, “Will Smith and Lenox Lewis were pallbearers at this man’s 2016 funeral,” the naval officer from Santa Clarita, California seemed stumped. So, he wrote down “Kobe” for his answer.

The correct response was Muhammad Ali, and while Phillip may have been in the right category with his athlete guess, he was way off when it came to the date. Kobe Bryant died earlier this year in a tragic helicopter crash, a loss that shook people both in and outside of the sports world. While Phillip lost out on some cash and came in third place, Jeopardy fans did not go easy on him and ripped the competitor for his incorrect response.

“That was the stupidest final jeopardy answer I’ve ever seen” wrote one user, while another added, “There have been some CRAZY-ASS incorrect answers over the years, but thinking Kobe died four years ago……when it was ONLY less than nine months ago is the worst!”

Others cracked jokes about how long 2020 has felt, with the pandemic warping time and making everything earlier this year feel like decades ago. Still, they didn’t excuse Phillip’s slip. “I know 2020 feels like it’s lasted forever, but there’s no way you could think Kobe died four years ago,” one tweeted. Another viewer wrote, “Final Jeopardy question asked for someone’s ‘2016 funeral’. One of the contestants answered Kobe. I know 2020 has felt like 4 years but…”

Phillip may have lost his champion title and thousands of dollars, but at least he won’t confuse Bryant’s death again. Now, we have a new champion in Garrett Marcotte, a software engineer from Santa Monica, California. To see how he does this week, tune into Jeopardy tomorrow at 7/6c on ABC.

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