A New York resident confused by a “Jeopardy” question about his state’s governor got a job Friday, joining Governor Kathy Hochul’s virtual COVID-19 briefing to tell her he know who she is now.
“Here in New York, we really believe in second chances,” Hochul said before introducing Ben Walthall, a Brooklyn resident who had failed to get a clue, “In 2021, she’s going to be back. became the first female governor of the state of New York.”
The clue was re-read Friday by a Hochul employee, who at first said was “the first female president” and later corrected herself as “the governor of New York.” Walthall correctly replied, “Who is Kathy Hochul?”
None of the contestants on Wednesday’s episode answered questions about Hochul, not even Amy Schneider, the “Jeopardy” race car driver, who has won 22 consecutive games as of Thursday’s broadcast.
Walthall told Hochul that his episode was filmed “a few months ago, right when you took office, so that’s part of the reason why I might have sat down on that question.”
Hochul, a former lieutenant governor, took office as governor in August when Democrat Andrew Cuomo resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct. A spokesperson for “Jeopardy” said Wednesday’s episode was filmed on October 12.
Walthall said he grew up in Massachusetts but has lived in New York for 11 years. He said his girlfriend is a New York City public school teacher, and he thanked Hochul for her efforts in promoting COVID-19 vaccinations for eligible children. “It’s really important to keep both teachers and children safe,” says Walthall, “so I definitely appreciate all that you’re doing there.”
Hochul told Walthall that there were no hard feelings.
“I don’t have a long memory,” she said, “so we’re good.”
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