Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings 'horrified' as champ Kendra Westerhaus flexes secret talent before big u

KEN Jennings was shocked by a double-jointed contestant on Wednesday’s Jeopardy! episode.

The host joked that 2-day champ Kendra Westerhaus must "horrify" her young students after her literal on-stage flex and before she lost.

The returning champ faced Jason Carpenter, a fast food worker and comedian from Santa Rosa Valley, California, and Stephen Webb, a data scientist from Longmont, Colorado.

Kendra is a licensed psychologist from Pocatello, Idaho who remained at the left podium with two prior wins and $47,201 total.

She eventually lost her third outing to newcomer Stephen but she certainly made her mark with fans and Ken, 48, during the Q&A portion first.

Ken shared that Kendra: “Sometimes works with kids and has a talent they enjoy.”

'ENTERTAINED...HORRIFIED?'

She replied: “I do, I’m double-jointed in pretty much all of my joints. So sometimes as an ice breaker, I’ll show them my fingers.”

Kendra then held up her hands with all the joints in her fingers bent at every knuckle in pride to the camera.

The live audience gasped in surprise as Ken audibly burst into laughter.

“Are they equal parts entertained…horrified?” he asked about her youngster students.

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“It varies kid by kid," she joked.

Ken then wondered if there was a "phobia for double jointedness" to which she replied: “I am unaware” - Luckily that wasn’t a clue.

"Well, they wouldn’t tell you - you’d be offended,” Ken trailed off in a bit of a curt moment and moved on.

'BIG PAYOUT!'

Gameplay-wise, it was Stephen and Jason who ran the board.

The beard-boasting Stephen swept a category that impressed Ken and the audience, he joked: “Gosh, now I need to pick something else!"

Stephen and right podium-positioned Jason traded the last two Daily Doubles in the second round.

Stephen made a huge $7K wager on his, which stunned Ken who said: "Oh wow! It paid off."

Going into Final Jeopardy, he had $25,800, Jason $19,200 and Kendra $10,800 after getting multiple $2K bottom-row clues at the tail end.

Final Jeopardy under "The U.S. Military" read: "Losses over Asia in the 1960s led to the establishment of the program known as this at a San Diego naval base in 1969."

Kendra was correct on Final Jeopardy with "Top Gun" and made a smaller wager.

Ken turned to Stephen and he revealed he also wrote "Top Gun."

"This could be a big payout," Ken built up. "You wagered, wow! $12,601!"

Stephen became a one-day winner with a large total of $38,401.

One Reddit user wrote: "Way to go Stephen! Seems like a very likable and relatable guy who definitely had some nerves but played marvelously."

A user claiming to be Stephen replied: "Thanks! I was basically terrified the whole time."

Another applauded: "I have to say kudos to Kendra for doing well in Jeopardy! even if she's double-jointed.

And that is something to be congratulated upon," - as doing so can't be easy with the buzzer, they felt.

HAND-OFF TO MAYIM

Over the summer, Ken and actress Mayim Bialik were announced as the replacements for the late longtime host, Alex Trebek - who helmed the show starting in 1984.

Alex tragically passed away from pancreatic cancer at age 80 in 2020, leaving huge shoes to fill, and it took two drama-filled years to fill them.

Mayim hasn't been seen on the regular show this season - she's only handled Celebrity Jeopardy!.

But she is about to be, and for a while.

Mayim will finally be back behind the host podium starting on February 20 with a High School Reunion Tournament.

The 14-episode competition will air instead of regular episodes and feature 27 former Teen Tournament contestants who duked it out in 2019.

Now older and wiser, the winner will get $100,000 and a slot in the 2023 Tournament of Champions.

After that, Mayim will continue to host the regular show, as execs earlier announced, and host Ken may be off until next September or at least for the foreseeable future.

The quiet consensus is that fans are not emotionally ready for Ken to go - since only he has hosted the past five months and many have gotten quite used to seeing him up there.

"Producers will watch the ratings drop considerably beginning February 20th" one wrote in a vicious recent Facebook thread.

"Keep Ken Jennings!" begged another harsh critic as another agreed: "Ken needs to stay."

"I will go on vacation then!!" a fourth even planned. "She is unwatchable" mocked a fifth critic.

"Wow, y'all are tough. Although I do much prefer Ken, I watch Jeopardy no matter who is the host. I'd be lost without this great game. I've been watching since Art Fleming days." defended another, waving a white flag on the host battle.

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