Currently kicking and screaming over the fact that I could’ve easily cleared $6,000 off the Jeopardy! board last night, yet every contestant somehow fumbled the bag.
I don’t think I’ve ever felt more passionate about a Jeopardy! category than I did last night when, sandwiched between trivia about business and finance history and gem knowledge, the show honored the legendary late country music icon Dolly Parton with a category of her very own. And look, I get it— we all have our strengths and areas of expertise…But the fact that not one person on that panel seemed to know a lick about America’s sweetheart had me punching the screen.
Host Ken Jennings, who took over hosting duties following longtime host Alex Trebek’s passing in November 2020— aka the second-worst celebrity death of my life behind Dolly— kicked off the category with the $1,200 clue, and it was a pretty well-known one if you ask me: “Part of Dolly’s Motivation to open Dollywood in this town near where she grew up was to celebrate regional culture.”
If you guessed Pigeon Forge…you’d be correct! And it was one of the only questions that one of the three contestants quickly hopped on without hesitation.
The rest of the show was pretty much an abomination to Dolly’s legacy. For $800, Jennings asked: “In 1980, Dolly made her big screen acting debut in this film; almost 30 years later, she wrote the songs for the Broadway musical,” followed by crickets across the panel. Not ONE person knew the answer: “9 to 5,” Dolly’s wildly successful 1980 film that went on to become one of the highest-grossing movies of the year.
To make matters worse, the $1600 question ended up being a daily double, with the contestant wagering only $3000. I guess it was a good thing he didn’t bet it all, though, considering he didn’t know the answer to this no-brainer: “Inspired by a patchwork garment that her mother made for her from rags, Dolly wrote this song a personal favorite.”
Painstakingly, he guessed “Jolene.” And then, once again, a contestant guessed the reigning hit, incorrectly naming it as the song she wrote for Porter Wagoner when she decided to leave his show and pursue a solo career. Luckily, another person did chime in and correctly guess “I Will Always Love You.”
While the contestants may not have known “Coat of Many Colors” or the Dolly-penned classic later made famous by Whitney Houston, at least they were able to quickly recall the accomplishment Dolly always said she hoped to be remembered for: the two-word name of her book-gifting program, Imagination Library.
Jeopardy’s video caption was hilariously ironic enough, stating, “We could never forget!” on a video where three people quite literally seemed like they’d never heard a Dolly Parton fact in their life. But the comment section was equally as entertaining, with fans just as appalled by the contestants’ lack of knowledge:
I sympathize with the contestants; I really do. It’s not their fault they’ve never experienced the simple pleasure that is the 1980 classic 9 to 5 or spent the past five weeks completely immersed in every bit of Dolly Parton news imaginable.
That being said, the next time Jeopardy! wants to honor Dolly with a little trivia, hit my line.