Despite his long-standing career in the entertainment industry, a Mark Twain Prize award, and a Grammy award for Best Comedy Album, Dave Chappelle apparently isn’t as well known as he might’ve thought.
A recent episode of “Jeopardy!” left folks on social media dumbfounded after contestants could not identify the funnyman.
It all went down on Jan. 27 during the Double Jeopardy! round of the iconic game show when guest host Ken Jennings offered what many deemed were relatively easy hints to the $2,000 question. “This comedian displayed his drama chops in ‘A Star Is Born,’ playing Bradley Cooper’s longtime friend,” Jennings read. The competitors were also given a photo of Chappelle to sweeten the deal. However, all three contestants failed what ultimately was an open book test despite the verbal and visual clues. No one even rang in to muster up a guess. However, they were able to figure out questions to other comedians, including Kevin Hart, Rebel Wilson, and Kenan Thompson.
Host Jennings appeared astonished by what took place, but viewers were even more flabbergasted, airing out their frustrations online. “Nobody on Jeopardy knew who Dave Chappelle was 😭 and the clue just was a picture of him! I-,” one Twitter user wrote.
“Watching Jeopardy last night and screaming at my TV ‘Who is Dave Chappelle, Who is Dave Chappelle???’ How can they not know who he is?” another person expressed. They added, “Put down the book and watch some Netflix or Comedy Central. Live a little people!”
One woman wished failure upon the contestants, writing, “No one knew @DaveChappelle? I hope they all lose. #jeopardy.”
“This is ridiculous!” a fourth said. “I missed Jeopardy yesterday but if I had seen this live, I would have been screaming! Justice for Dave Chappelle!”
For one user, not knowing one of the most famous figures in comedy was simply unacceptable. “How did none of those contestants on Jeopardy not know Dave Chappelle, but then know Kenan Thompson is…lol! 😉” they wrote, “You don’t deserve comedy if you don’t know who Dave Chappelle is! That’s like not knowing Steve Harvey or Richard Pryor or Eddie Murphy! No, unforgivable!..lol! 😂.”
The “Chappelle’s Show” star had to cancel a string of shows recently after contracting the coronavirus, a representative for the star announced earlier this month. He is said to be asymptomatic and in quarantine.