Jeopardy! fans are used to feeling smart after watching the classic game show but Monday’s episode may have brought them to tears.
During the “Final Jeopardy” round, contestant Dhruv Gaur wrote “We love you Alex!” replacing the word “love” with a heart and it triggered an emotional reaction from the show’s longtime host, Alex Trebek.
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Before the show, Trebek announced that he would be reentering treatment for pancreatic cancer after he announced his diagnosis in March.
In August, the Canadian-native announced that he would return to host the 36th season of the gameshow, which premiered in September, but will now take another leave to tend to his health.
Gaur’s “wrong” answer left him in third place with $5. “That’s very kind of you, thank you,” said the 79-year-old host, his voice cracking.
Trebek: “What is ‘We love you…’ oh, that’s very kind. Thank you.” pic.twitter.com/z3qE8GxNam
— Mark (@tole_cover) November 12, 2019
Gaur took to Twitter to explain his heart-warming answer, saying that “We were all hurting for him so badly” and thought Trebek should know.
…for context, Alex had just shared with us that he was reentering treatment for pancreatic cancer. We were all hurting for him so badly. 2/n
— Dhruv Gaur (@dhruvg_) November 12, 2019
When Final Jeopardy came up, I could’ve tried to puzzle it together, but really, just kept thinking about Alex, and thought he should know. 3/n
— Dhruv Gaur (@dhruvg_) November 12, 2019
Since its posting, various forms of the video has begun making the rounds on social media, with one on Twitter racking up over five million views, and over 12,000 retweets by time of writing.
In lieu of Trebek’s announcement, Jeopardy! contestants are putting together an online fundraiser to raise money for pancreatic cancer. “We’re doing this to recognize Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, to support Alex in his fight against pancreatic cancer, and to remember Larry Martion, Jeopardy’s 2018 Teachers Tournament champion who was sadly lost to pancreatic cancer earlier this year,” reads a statement from Steven Grade, a contestant on the show.
More information can be found online.