‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Slam Contestants for Not Knowing James Earl Jones

Brittany Sims September 16, 2025, 1:04 pm

What is shocking? The late actor James Earl Jones was an answer to a Jeopardy! question on the Monday, September 15 episode and none of the contestants knew it. Fans slammed them for tmissing he easy clue.

James Earl Jones was known for many roles including Darth Vader in the Star Wars saga, Mufasa in The Lion King, The Sandlot, Coming to America, and more. The actor died on September 9, 2024 at the age of 93.

Reigning champion Paolo Pasco faced off against Ryan Sharpe and Kelsi Tyler in a tight game.

The episode featured a Sesame Street category in the first round. The contestants knew three out of the five clues, including the theme song, a character’s pet rock, and their game show host.

However, they didn’t know a special guest on the show. Oscar the Grouch presented the clue, “Throughout the years, lots of people have stopped by Sesame Street like Alex Trebek and Ken Jennings. Why can’t they leave a grouch alone? But, the very first was this guy, who recited the alphabet for us.”

A picture of a young James Earl Jones popped up on the screen, but all three contestants shook their heads. Host Ken Jennings let them know that it was the legendary actor.

The clip was posted to Instagram, where fans slammed the contestants for not knowing Jones. “Nobody knew James Earl Jones. Straight to jail,” one fan said.

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“Well that was an embarrassment,” replied another.

“Excuse me, you know Rocco the Rock but you don’t know James Earl Jones?” another asked.

“We were screaming at the TV!” a fan said.

“Literally how did a single one of them not know THEE James Earl Jones?” a fourth asked.

“Them not knowing James Earl Jones was heartbreaking,” an Instagram user said.

'Jeopardy!' Fans Crack Up at Ken Jennings' 'Magic Trick'

“I can’t believe they knew who Rocco was but not James Earl Jones,” a fan said.

“What the crap? How do they not know who freaking James Earl Jones is on sight? Nobody wins. I demand a rematch,” one last fan said.

However, one fan defended the contestants by saying that they only recognize Jones when he was older. Since this was a younger picture, they understood why no one got it.

“Yeah, but he looks the same minus the hair,” a fan replied.

Did you know that the man in the picture was James Earl Jones? Sound off in tje comments.

Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock