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In a surprise instance that occurred on the November 14 airing of the hit quiz show, contestants Brandon Deutch, Emily White and Nick Cascone completely froze when they were asked to answered one question from the “’90s Music” category. When Brandon chose the $800 clue from the board, Ken read the trio this clue as a photo of country singer Garth Brooks flashed on the screen: “This country superstar’s ‘Friends In Low Places’ was named CMA Single of the Year in 1991.”

When the timer ran out and none of the contestants guessed the answer, Ken couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. “Whoa!” he exclaimed. “How soon we forget. That’s Chris Gaines’ alter ego, Garth Brooks.”

Since Ken is famous for being able to keep a straight face while reading the clues during taping, seeing him baffled by the competitors’ lack of knowledge about Garth led many to feel his pain.

“Easy category, but how did none of them not know Garth Brooks? 😂,” one person wrote on YouTube. “Not knowing Garth Brooks is equivalent to not knowing Michael Jackson or Elvis, that’s embarrassing,” another remarked. “Really?!! I don’t particularly like country music, but #GarthBrooks was everywhere in the ’90s. Very easy triple stumper,” a different viewer noted on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Despite the fans’ — and Ken’s — reactions, one of the contestants responded to the controversy on X. As Emily later noted after the episode aired, she was prouder that she got the answer to another clue within the category instead.

“Look, y’all, I may have flubbed on the Garth Brooks clue, but I got in on Wu-Tang Clan and that’s way cooler,” she wrote on November 14.