“Ch-Ch-Ch-Chaka Khan… Chaka Khan… Chaka Khan… Chaka Khan”—this famous intro to the artist’s hit song “I Feel For You” is what I think was looping inside the head of a recent Jeopardy contestant.
On Monday night’s episode of Jeopardy, defending champion Sarah Jett Rayburn (damn, I wish her name was Karen; it would’ve been a great opportunity to continue the running joke) failed in the most hilarious way.
The $2,000 question from “The Zulus” category (equipped with visual hints) was as follows, “On each September 24, Zulus celebrate a holiday that was named in honor of this warrior leader of the early 1800s.”
Sarah channeled the strength of Susan B. Anthony by buzzing in quickly with the confidence of a mediocre white man and answered, “Who is Chaka Khan?”
“No,” host Alex Trebek responded.
Seconds after, Sarah realized she fucked up and you could see her flailing her arms in the air with despair as Matt correctly answered, “Who is Shaka Zulu?”
Ohhhh, sweet thing? Don’t you know you failed everything?! Womp.
According to CNN, Sarah also made history when she later explained why she picked another incorrect answer during the “Final Jeopardy” round, which Alex said has never happened in the history of the popular game show. He also noted it was a valid explanation since viewers watching at home typically wonder why contestants don’t choose what seems to be the obvious answer.
Despite Sarah’s jittery nerves she still ended up winning the night’s game. Plus, she won our attention because “Chaka Khan” quickly began trending on Twitter, providing us all with the laugh we needed. Now that’s what I call white woman privilege! *wink*
Alex, who the world is watching and praying for as he battles pancreatic cancer, also recently went viral for his snarky response to a contestant who excitedly shared the concept of “Nerd Core Hip-Hop” to the audience.
However, Alex dropped the hammer and responded with, “Losers, in other words.” Damnnnnn, Alex.
Something tells me that Chaka Khan would’ve appreciated that snark, though, as someone who can throw shade with the best of them.