{"id":2510101,"date":"2026-07-20T21:33:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T21:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2510101"},"modified":"2026-07-20T21:33:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T21:33:21","slug":"ice-t-says-he-was-most-excited-to-meet-jon-heder-on-nations-dumbest-i-was-like-holy-s-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/ice-t-says-he-was-most-excited-to-meet-jon-heder-on-nations-dumbest-i-was-like-holy-s-exclusive\/","title":{"rendered":"Ice-T Says He Was Most Excited to Meet Jon Heder on \u201cNation\u2019s Dumbest\u201d: \u2018I Was Like, Holy S&#8212;!\u2019 (Exclusive)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\" data-body-type=\"bodyblocks\">\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"mb-4\">\n<li class=\"ml-4 safari:ml-6 list-disc\">\n<div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Out of all the contestants on <em>Nation&#8217;s Dumbest<\/em>, Ice-T reveals he was most excited to meet Jon Heder<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 safari:ml-6 list-disc\">\n<div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;When I saw him, I was like, &#8216;Holy s&#8212; &#8216;&#8221; Ice-T told PEOPLE of meeting the <em>Napoleon Dynamite <\/em>star<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 safari:ml-6 list-disc\">\n<div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Nation&#8217;s Dumbest <\/em>airs on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on FOX and streams the next day on Hulu<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">When <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Ice-T;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/ice-t\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Ice-T<\/a> was asked to be a part of FOX&#8217;s latest show, <em>Nation&#8217;s Dumbest<\/em>, he was in for a pleasant surprise.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The game show, hosted by comedian <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Jack Whitehall;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/jack-whitehall-shares-new-details-about-his-wedding-to-roxy-horner-and-how-their-daughter-3-adorably-interrupted-ceremony-11999114\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Jack Whitehall<\/a>, brings together an eclectic group of celebrities to compete in challenges to prove their intelligence. Putting a twist on the traditional competition format, <em>Nation&#8217;s Dumbest <\/em>is a show no one wants to win. As the smartest celebrity graduates each episode, the remaining contestants will be one step closer to being crowned &#8220;The Nation&#8217;s Dumbest.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Along with Ice-T, the celebrity contestants are <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Elle King;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/elle-king\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Elle King<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Jon Heder;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/jon-heder-almost-puked-filming-napoleon-dynamite-dance-12020877\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Jon Heder<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Andrew Yang;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/parents\/andrew-yang-nationwide-baby-formula-shortage-incomprehensible\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Andrew Yang<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Chase Hudson;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tv\/tiktok-chase-hudson-apologizes-charli-damelio-drama\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Chase Hudson<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Anthony Michael Hall;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/anthony-michael-hall\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Anthony Michael Hall<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Hilaria Baldwin;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/hilaria-baldwin\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Hilaria Baldwin<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Steve-O;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/steve-o\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Steve-O<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Carmen Electra;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/carmen-electra\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Carmen Electra<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:JoJo Siwa;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/person\/jojo-siwa\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">JoJo Siwa<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Matt Leinart;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/matt-and-josie-leinart-welcome-a-baby-girl-to-the-family-exclusive-8788932\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Matt Leinart<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Dr. Drew Pinsky;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/dr-drew-explains-16-and-pregnant-genesis-backlash-11978357\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Dr. Drew Pinsky<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p><i>The celebrity contestants on &#8216;Nation&#8217;s Dumbest&#8217;<br \/>Credit: Shane Mahood\/ FOX.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE at the <em>Nation&#8217;s Dumbest <\/em>press day in Los Angeles on July 9, Ice-T said meeting the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Napoleon Dynamite;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/movies\/napoleon-dynamite-where-are-they-now\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Napoleon Dynamite<\/em><\/a><em> <\/em>star was surreal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I was the most excited to meet, really him,&#8221; the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Law &amp; Order: Special Victims Unit;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/ice-t-confirms-every-episode-svu-season-28-after-reduced-screen-time-12016888\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Law &amp; Order: Special Victims Unit<\/em><\/a> actor said, pointing to Heder. &#8220;When I saw him, I was like, &#8216;Holy s&#8212;.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;When you see people on television, you know, people meet Ice-T, but they&#8217;ve only seen me through a screen or something,&#8221; he added. &#8220;So when you finally see the real person, it&#8217;s a moment.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:PEOPLE's free daily newsletter;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/people-news-daily-newsletter-sign-up-8692701\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">PEOPLE&#8217;s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Heder chimed in to say that former presidential candidate Yang walked up to him on the first day of production and said, &#8220;John, Ice wants to meet you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I was like, &#8216;If he wants to meet me, he has to approach me,'&#8221; Heder joked. &#8220;None of this secondhand, telephone game nonsense.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The <em>Blades of Glory <\/em>actor also noted how &#8220;cool&#8221; it was to meet other stars while on <em>Nation&#8217;s Dumbest. <\/em>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know a lot of people in Hollywood, and so I was like, &#8216;Good. There&#8217;s some more people to put in my pocket. I love this.&#8221; he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"Jon Heder, Andrew Yang and Hilaria Baldwin on 'Nation's Dumbest'Credit: Shane Mahood\/ FOX\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/e25f46f06183f568da9d99ea99ee1b47f7ece395bf1fec49a8c8d5c9ecc1f02c\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w960;quality_80;format_webp\/https:%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fpeople_218%2F56aa2f40a00f089750340ced51b6e31a\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p><i>Jon Heder, Andrew Yang and Hilaria Baldwin on &#8216;Nation&#8217;s Dumbest&#8217;<br \/>Credit: Shane Mahood\/ FOX<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Ahead of signing on for the game show, Ice-T said he was told it would be &#8220;easy&#8221; for him but he quickly found that to be untrue. &#8220;They baited me,&#8221; he said. &#8220;&#8216;You&#8217;ll be on therel one show, two shows, [they said]. I was on there for my life.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;We had to go to the show every day, and after a while, you just start to get Stockholm Syndrome,&#8221; the rapper said. &#8220;You start getting weird about it because you can&#8217;t get it out of your mind. And I was stressed out.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Heder shared the same sentiment, saying, &#8220;We all collectively started getting obsessed with the mechanics of the show.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;You have to get stars in order to help you at the end of the show. Everything you&#8217;re doing in the episode is [to get] stars,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;It wasn&#8217;t about taking down your teammates. It really was just like, &#8216;We gotta get those stars.&#8217; I would go to sleep thinking about that. I would dream about stars.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;It was a game, but it really got real,&#8221; Ice-T said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Nation&#8217;s Dumbest <\/em>airs on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on FOX and streams the next day on Hulu.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read the original article on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:People;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;link&quot;,&quot;yLinkElementType&quot;:&quot;article_link&quot;}\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/ice-t-most-excited-meet-jon-heder-nations-dumbest-exclusive-12022973\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">People<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEED TO KNOW Out of all the contestants on Nation&#8217;s Dumbest, Ice-T reveals he was most excited to meet Jon Heder &#8220;When I saw him, I was like, &#8216;Holy s&#8212; &#8216;&#8221; Ice-T told PEOPLE of meeting the Napoleon Dynamite star Nation&#8217;s Dumbest airs on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on FOX and streams the next [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2510103,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25177],"tags":[494883,396290,346575,378143],"class_list":["post-2510101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrities","tag-andrew-yang","tag-ice-t","tag-jon-heder","tag-napoleon-dynamite"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Ice-T-Says-He-Was-Most-Excited-to-Meet-Jon-Heder.com2Fen2Fpeople_2182F80714158563d115ad69f3484af85faf2.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2510101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2510101"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2510101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2510104,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2510101\/revisions\/2510104"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2510103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2510101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2510101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2510101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}