Jeopardy! fans freak out after A-lister makes surprise cameo on episode as viewers exclaim ‘I didn’t expect this!’

JEOPARDY! contestants have been left stunned after a major A-list celebrity made a surprise appearance on Monday night’s episode.

The moment occurred on the July 8 episode of Jeopardy!, when three-day champ Isaac Hirsch competed against Karan Menon and Stephanie Lewis.

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Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings on the game showCredit: ABC

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Scarlett Johansson making a surprise appearance on Jeopardy! during the July 8 episodeCredit: Instagram/jeopardy

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The Jeopardy! clue board on July 8 with a special pop culture category, Fly Me To The MoonCredit: Instagram/jeopardy
At one point, host Ken Jennings took a break from delivering the clues and handed the job to actress Scarlett Johansson.

A video of the movie star popped up on screen as she stated the clues in the category Fly Me To The Moon, a nod to her new film by the same name, which premieres July 12.

The pop culture category contained questions about various films related to flying and space.

Fans went wild over Scarlett’s unexpected cameo and shared their excitement on social media.

FANS’ REACTIONS

“I love Scarlett,” one person gushed in the comments of Jeopardy’s Instagram post teasing the video.

“She’s so pretty omg she’s beautiful man,” said another.

“Didn’t expect to see Scarlett!” someone else wrote.

“I MISSED HER ON JEOPARDY????? this is what i get for having two jobs now missing jeopardy and especially scarlett on jeopardy,” a fourth fan cried on X.

“Omg scarlett Johansson on Jeopardy today??” a fifth added.

Ken Jennings called out for denying partial answer about famous film as Jeopardy! fans question if game rules are ‘real’
“Petition to have Scarlett Johansson read Jeopardy categories on every show,” a sixth boasted.

“She was a lot better than the usual celebrity clue-readers on Jeopardy (they’re usually terrible),” a seventh remarked.

Isaac appeared to dominate that category, leading to his victory over Karan and Stephanie.

The California native racked up a final score of $30,500, Karan came in second place with $10,001, and Stephanie followed with $5,000.

Jeopardy! Host Timeline

Jeopardy! has had a tumultuous history regarding hosts after the death of the iconic Alex Trebek in 2020. Here are all of the hosts since the game show’s inception in 1964.

Art Fleming – 1964 to 1975, he was the original host of the daytime version of Jeopardy! on NBC.

Alex Trebek – 1984 to 2020, the late, great Alex hosted Jeopardy!’s modern iteration for 36 years until his death from pancreatic cancer.

Guest hosts – 2020 to 2021, Jeopardy! tested out a series of guest hosts for week or two-week stints, including Anderson Cooper, LaVar Burton, and Aaron Rodgers.

Mike Richards – 2021, he was named host for one week before resigning amid controversy. He was the show’s executive producer at the time.

Mayim Bialik – 2021 to 2023, when Mike was announced as the show’s new host, Mayim was chosen to host tournaments and primetime specials.

Mayim and Ken Jennings – 2022 to 2023, 74-time champion Ken (the longest-winning contestant ever) joined Mayim as a guest host and they split hosting duties.

Ken Jennings – 2023 to present. Last December, Mayim announced on Instagram that she would “no longer” host Jeopardy! after a lengthy hiatus, having stood with the writer’s strike, and Ken was named sole host.

Ken now helms all editions of Jeopardy! including Celebrity Jeopardy!, the nightly show, and other primetime specials like Masters.

Jeopardy! has had many celebrity clue presenters on the game show over the years, including cellist Yo-Yo Ma, comedian Jerry Seinfeld, and politician Hillary Clinton.

It is not to be confused with the spin-off Celebrity Jeopardy!, which has featured hundreds of notable stars since its debut in October 1992 and reboot in 2022.

The contestants compete to win money for charitable organizations of their choice, and some of Hollywood’s biggest names have participated.

Anderson Cooper, Jodie Foster, Ashton Kutcher, Neil Patrick Harris, Regis Philbin, and Rosie O’Donnell are just some of the famous faces who have competed on the show.

Abbott Elementary star Lisa Ann Walter was the latest winner on the spin-off, earning $1 million for the Entertainment Community Fund during the January 23, 2024 episode.

She beat journalist Mo Rocca and sports TV personality Katie Nolan after answering the Final Jeopardy! clue correctly.

Despite the loss, Mo earned $250,000 for the Inner-City Scholarship Fund, and Katie got $100,000 for the Association for Women in Sports Media.

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Jeopardy! contestants Isaac Hirsch, Karan Meron, and Samantha Lewis on the July 8 episodeCredit: ABC