WASHINGTON — Tonight in a rare moment for the show, "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek became emotional when a contestant on the "Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions Semi-Finals" lost nearly $2,000 so that he could offer a heart-felt gesture, delivering the wrong written answer to one of the game's trivia questions.
It was the wrong answer to the question, but the right move to show love and support for Trebek who has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments.
Contestant Dhruv's wager lost him $1,995, so he could have his written answer read, "What is, We ♥ you, Alex!"
Trebek read out the answer and didn't seem to register what it said until after he finished reading it saying, "that's very kind of you thank you." The "Jeopardy!" host gestured to the contestant podium and his voice quivered emotionally as he said, "that cost you, $1,995, you're left with 5 bucks, ok."
Contestant Dhruv looked on, seemingly trying to keep his composure as well. The audience reacted with surprise.
It was a sincere heart-felt human moment, that obviously touched the longtime game show host who we have grown up with in our homes.
Alex Trebek has been the hosting game shows for over half a century, and has hosted nearly 8,000 episodes of "Jeopardy!" according to the game show's official website. That's 35 years hosting the wildly popular American television game show that has become a part of history and culture.
Show fans immediately started posting emotional reactions to social media.
Robbie Fox on Twitter said, "Did anybody predict that Jeopardy would make a nation cry tonight? Holy moly."
Gaur took to Twitter Monday evening after the episode had aired on the East Coast to explain what happened from his perspective:
He also mentioned a fundraiser his fellow Tournament of Champions competitors have started to raise money for pancreatic cancer research.
"Jeopardy!" airs weeknights at 7:30 on Channel 13.
