Ken Jennings Shares Flirty Banter With Former Rival on ‘Jeopardy!’: “Keep It in Your Pants”

Ken Jennings shared a flirty moment with his former rival James Holzhauer during Friday night’s (May 12) Jeopardy! “Masters” Tournament — and fans are eating it up.

The NSFW comment came when contestant Matt Amadio chose the “Authors” category. The clue read, “The Detroit Free Press said ‘The Mummy’ was ‘vintage’ this novelist; ‘elegantly erotic & full of enchanting terror,” to which Amadio incorrectly answered with, “What’s Stoker?”

Following the sound of the buzzer, Jennings — the current host and a former champ himself — poked fun at Holzhauer, who is the second all-time regular season earnings champ.

“I also refer to James as ‘elegantly erotic but full of enchanting terror,'” Jennings joked, before saying the correct answer was “Anne Rice.”

While contestant Mattea Roach covered her mouth and actually LOL’d, Holzhauer playfully fired back, “Keep it in your pants, Ken.”

But the fun didn’t stop there!

Later that night, Holzhauer reposted the clip to his Twitter page with the witty caption, “We actually had to pause taping so Ken could take a cold shower.”

Meanwhile, fans of the show are all for the duo’s banter. One wrote, “Best Jeopardy moment – ever,” while another added, “Nice to see everyone joking with each other!”

A third person said, “@James_Holzhauer Definitely a highlight of the competition and your response was superb,” before someone else chimed in, “Oh yes, the banter is brilliant. Team James, all the way!!!”

i know ken jennings is in love w james holzhauer like the rest of us but he needs to be less horny. ur on primetime ken. pull urself together

— swell but maladjusted :/ (@yourfaveherb) May 13, 2023

"Keep it in your pants, Ken," is among the top ten phrases I was not expecting to hear on #JeopardyMasters tonight, and no, I don't know what the other nine are

— cara💜🍉 (@tfifthmarauder) May 13, 2023

It’s like a SNL skit 🤣

— Jules (@crossing_jules) May 13, 2023

The friendly competition between the two stems back to 2020, when Jennings, who won three games, beat Holzhauer, who only one one, in the “Greatest of All Time” Tournament. The latter, who held a 32-game winning streak back in 2019, brought in over $2 million in earnings during his two-month stint — putting him just behind Jennings’ 2004 record.

I say it’s about time for a rematch!

Jeopardy! airs on weeknights at 7/6c on ABC.