“A CHILDHOOD NIGHTMARE BECOMES A DAILY DUTY!” Ken Jennings shocked fans when he confessed that what he hated as a kid watching Jeopardy!—the awkward chit-chat about cats, vacations, and contestants’ hobbies—is now something he’s forced to do every night on air. The boy who once ran out of his room in embarrassment has now forced a smile and turned his obsession into part of his job. The revelation stunned fans: it turns out even the legendary host can’t escape the show’s “curse”!
Ken Jennings has been associated with “Jeopardy!” for a long time, first as a contestant and then as the host. He has seen the show transform from the Alex Trebek era into its current version. The consensus among most fans is that he has done a good job, and Jennings also seems to enjoy hosting the game. However, not every aspect of being the popular game show’s host has been to his liking, and he recently revealed the things that made him cringe as a viewer.

He appeared on the “Lovett or Leave It” podcast along with former contestant Amy Schneider. The 51-year-old revealed that he was never a fan of when the host would pause the game to ask contestants about their personal lives. He said that he used to cringe and leave the room whenever that happened. “When you’re on Jeopardy! episode number five, and it says on the card, ‘So, it says here, you like skateboarding?’ Is your heart in it?” the podcast host had asked.

Jennings could not help but laugh, according to a TV Insider report, and said that as a kid, he found these interviews to be cringey. “Because these people mean well, but you make them stop playing Jeopardy! for a second to talk about their cat or their trip to Thailand or something, and they’re not there for that. They just want to answer the little questions,” he said.

As the host of the show, it is Jennings who has the unfortunate task of conducting these interviews that he hated as a kid. Age hasn’t taught him to like it, but he certainly tries his best to make it as enjoyable as possible for the viewers. “So, I try to make it good. I try to make it the least bad it can be and get out of there. My promise to you, the viewer,” he said.

That begs another question. Has Jennings ever said no to asking an interview question on the show? The podcast host asked him exactly that and was met with an interesting answer. “My version of that joke would be cats,” the 51-year-old said. “It is 100%, ‘You would not believe the crazy thing my cat does.’ And I’m like, ‘I bet I can. Does it sit on top of the couch? That’s nuts.’”

Schneider, who was sitting there and listening to all this, hailed Jennings’s ability to laugh at any story, even if it wasn’t that great. “As someone who has seen Ken work up close, his ability to laugh at any story is remarkable,” she quipped. The “Jeopardy!” host then said that he spent his life trying to get out of conversations in 25 seconds, which is why this was the perfect job for him.