Abbott Elementary star Lisa Ann Walter had a disastrous appearance on Jeopardy! on Monday (January 26) when she was eliminated from the 2026 Tournament of Champions with a final score of -$2,600. The actress qualified for the tournament by winning Season 2 of Celebrity Jeopardy! However, she found the step up in quality tough going from the start and even let slip a curse after getting into the negatives and not being able to compete in Final Jeopardy.
Her swift exit came just days after comedian W. Kamau Bell (who won Celebrity Jeopardy! Season 3) was also eliminated from the TOC. In the January 22 episode he scored a paltry $2,600. Now fans of Jeopardy! are debating whether celebrities should be banned from competing in the TOC, despite Season 1 Celebrity Jeopardy! winner Ike Barinholtz advancing to the semifinals in 2024. Although the celebrity contestants have been invited since the start of the show, some fans think that they shouldn’t be able to compete in the TOC because it has tougher questions than Celebrity Jeopardy! This year, it seems to have got harder still.
“I enjoy Celebrity Jeopardy!, but the celebrity winner does not merit a spot in the TOC,” a Reddit user said. “Celebrity Jeopardy! uses a modified format (Triple Jeopardy) and an easier question set than regular season episodes. Including the celebrity winner in the TOC is just a marketing gimmick and takes a spot in the TOC away from a regular-season contestant. No shade on the celebrity contestants, but let it just be a charity event and let the TOC be the TOC.”
“AGREE. They took the space from someone who really deserved it. Keep Celebrity Jeopardy separate. They can’t compete,” a fan agreed.
“Absolutely agree with you OP. Celebrity Jeopardy is a lot easier than tournament. Let alone this tournament has seemed extremely hard for current contestants,” another wrote.
“It is ridiculous to allow Celebrity Jeopardy winners a spot on TOC. The Celebrity tournament questions are much, much easier, and it’s flat-out unfair and nonsensical to take away a spot from the folks who earned a legitimate hard-won spot on TOC,” a third added.
“It doesn’t help that this has been quite a difficult TOC with some brutal categories. The jump in difficulty between the Celebrity Tournament and this TOC is enormous,” a fan said.
However, some game show fans disagreed with the original poster, saying that Barinholtz proves that celebrities can do well in the competition. “Ike Barinholtz would like a word,” one wrote.
“Honestly, it’s just kinda fun lol. Like, yeah, I think Ike’s going to be an anomaly, but I mean… his ToC run was some of the most entertaining Jeopardy has been for me. Even Kamau was pretty fun to watch on a brutal board, and came closer than you might think to taking the win (if we wagered right in the final and didn’t neg that currency question…). I think that with the CW existing now, the sting of them being there is less,” another commented.
“Nah If I had my way, the Pop Culture Jeopardy! champs would be squeezing into one podium in the TOC, too,” one said.
“They earned their spot,” one fan defended.
“I don’t really have an issue with it, and Ike Barinholtz proves your assumption wrong. This year is an outlier since there are 2 celeb qualifiers, but even with 2, I’m not seeing that they stole a spot from a worthy 3+ game winner,” one last fan said.
What do you think about celebrity winners competing in the ToC? Let us know in the comments.
Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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