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 at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo was displayed on screen.
The contestants had to guess what American at 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 come up with a guess in the ensuing seconds, which prompted host Ken Jennings to reveal the answer, “Who is Scott Hamilton?”
The restaurant server then covers their mouth in embarrassment, while Matheny seemingly smirks at his competitor’s reaction.
Bilodeau apologized to the skating legend for the embarrassing mistake near the end of the show and blamed themselves for not wearing glasses.
“Apologize to Scott Hamilton. I did lose my glasses the day before I came down here,” Bilodeau quipped to justify her wild answer. “My boyfriend was trying to get me to buy glasses here so that’s that.”
Fans on social media were appalled by Bilodeau’s off-the-grid answer.
“Someone on Jeopardy! just thought a photo of Scott Hamilton was Mary Lou Retton I’ve been wheezing for five minutes” a Jeopardy! fan on X wrote.
“Who is Mary Lou Retton? Scott Hamilton is wincing somewhere right now🤣,” another shocked wrote.
“I literally spit out a mouthful of wine!!,” one person said.
The clue snafu follows Hamilton revealing the latest in his ongoing health issues earlier this week.
The former Olympian, who won a gold medal in 1984, said he will hold off on treating his third brain tumor until symptoms start to show, according to 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 individual all-around competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Retton also has dealt with frightening health issues.
The former gymnast, who famously won gold in the individual all-around competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, developed a very rare form of pneumonia and landed in the UC for a month last year.