Key points
Jeopardy caused mild controversy after referring to meme character John Pork as “AI generated.”
Viewers observed that John Pork appeared on social media before generative AI became widespread.
Ken Jennings apologized for the imprecise language and asked Pork to forgive the show.
Ken Jennings is apologizing after hamming it up on Jeopardy.
The game show caused a slight stir after viewers debated about a clue concerning viral internet character John Pork from the show’s Oct. 24 episode.
The question in question came in the category “Daddy, is there really a…” The clue stated, “No: A.I. generated the TikTok image of this pig/human eventually killed by Tim Cheese.”
After contestants Cindy del Rosario, Sondra Venable, and Dargan Ware appeared stumped by the clue, Jennings weighed in with the answer (and his own confusion). “I didn’t understand any of that,” he said before revealing, “Who is John Pork?”
Jeopardy/YouTube
Contestants Cindy del Rosario, Sondra Venable, and Dargan Ware on ‘Jeopardy’
For those out of the loop, John Pork is a fictional character with a pig’s head and a human body whose innocuous social media presence on Instagram and TikTok comedically clashes with his absurd appearance. In fictional meme lore, he was recently assassinated by rat hitman Tim Cheese.
Once Jeopardy‘s John Pork question was clipped for TikTok, users on the platform argued that the clue wasn’t completely accurate, as John Pork appeared on social media as early as 2018, before generative AI was widely accessible.
“Calling John Pork AI is a genuine mistake from the writers that needs addressing,” one commenter wrote.
Another added, “John Pork predates AI this is wrong.”
In a follow-up social media video, Jennings expressed his remorse — seemingly half-jokingly — for the inaccuracy.
“When we played a clue recently on Jeopardy on John Pork, I remarked that I didn’t understand a word of it,” Jennings began. “Well, I’ve had a chance to learn quite a bit about the late Mr. Pork, including the fact that some viewers took exception with our description of him as ‘AI generated.'”
Jennings explained that the show’s phrasing could have been more precise. “Now, even though AI is used heavily in many of his TikToks, it’s possible that wasn’t the best wording to refer to his original appearances,” he said. “John, I hope you’ll forgive me and all of us at Jeopardy for any insult we may have committed against you or your memory.”
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Jeopardy airs nightly on ABC, and the five most recent episodes can be streamed on Peacock.
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