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LOADINGERROR LOADING Get ready to feel like your brain just went through a sausage grinder. Last week, “Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings found himself publicly apologizing for something pretty ridiculous after the show received backlash for a clue involving an internet meme known as John Pork. Advertisement John Pork is an anthropomorphic pigman with a human body and pig head, who has been popping up in Instagram and TikTok content since 2018. The meme’s use is about as silly and confusing as the viral 6-7 joke, or as one Reddit user described it: “Internet nonsense that is aimed at bored teenagers.” John Pork is sometimes used just to befuddle older folks. Here’s a little sample: @tonyeeted Putting John Pork in the family photos #funny #johnpork #timcheese #prank #brainrot ♬ Silent Hill - Horror Music - Gabriel Andrade Produções As goofy as this all sounds, due to John Pork’s popularity, the pigman has some user-generated internet “lore” — or essentially fans of the meme have let their imagination go hog wild about John Pork’s life. He was apparently killed by his nemesis Tim Cheese, a rodent-man with a mouse’s head and human body, and the reasons as to why vary. Advertisement @jamesforemann Thunderbolts x John Pork 👀 Thunderbolts* @Marvel Entertainment In Cinemas May 1st! ♬ original sound - James Foreman Being that John Pork is very much a thing, the writers of “Jeopardy!” decided to use him as a clue during the airing of its Oct. 24 episode in a category titled “Daddy Is There Really A…” The clue read: “No: A.I. Generated The TikTok Image of this pig/human eventually killed by Tim Cheese.” Needless to say, the clue baffled the contestants, and no one answered. Jennings was also lost. “I didn’t understand any of that,” Jennings said as the buzzer sounded, before revealing the answer. “Who is John Pork?” Advertisement Well, it seems some John Pork fans were a bit miffed by the wording of the clue. As one commenter on the above clip said: “John pork isn’t AI generated. He’s from before that became popularized.” Although artificial intelligence is used in a lot of John Pork-related content, it is unclear how the original pig person was created. Advertisement Due to this, Jennings and the long-running game show decided to issue a jokey apology on TikTok. “When we played a clue recently on ‘Jeopardy!’ about John Pork, I remarked that ‘I didn’t understand a word of it,’” Jennings began, sincerely. “Well, I’ve had the chance to learn quite a bit since that clue aired about the late Mr. Pork, including the fact that some viewers took exception with our description of him as AI-generated.” Jennings continued, “Now, even though AI is used heavily in many of his TikToks, it’s possible that wasn’t the best wording to refer to his original appearances. John, I hope you’ll forgive me and all of us at ‘Jeopardy!’ for any insult we may have committed against you or your memory.” Advertisement @jeopardy Replying to @JoeG zz 🤭 Sorry to this pork. Jeopardy! #JohnPork #KenJennings ♬ original sound - Jeopardy! TikTok users gobbled up Jenning’s apology, and piled on with more jokes. “No way this is how I find out John Pork died,” one user quipped. “Top notch accountability here. We’ll all sleep better after this,” another user cracked. “But they won’t condemn the actions of Tim cheese?” a TikToker said. TruthHas NoBias Your SupportFuelsOur Mission Your SupportFuelsOur Mission We Won’t Back Down As more major networks align with those in power, the space for fearless journalism is shrinking. By becoming a member, you support a newsroom that asks the tough questions, no matter who’s in charge. We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves. Thank you again for your support along the way. We’re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again. We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves. Thank you again for your support along the way. We’re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again. Support HuffPost Already a member? Log in to hide these messages. “hearing john pork referred to as ‘mr.pork’ is possibly the funniest thing i’ve ever heard,” another user said. “i cannot believe this is real life,” another TikToker said, summing up what we’re all thinking. HuffPost has reached out to John Pork’s family for comment, but did not get an immediate response. We did, however, get a suspicious strip of bacon sent to our offices in a package that smelled a lot like cheddar. Check back later for more updates.
