HOW DUMB ARE SOME OF THESE “CELEBS” ON WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE???

I meant to get this off my chest last summer during the 2025 run of the celebrity version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. (Actually, I think that’s the only version that is being produced anymore. That seems to be the way that a lot of game shows are going, even including Family Feud. I feel bad for regular people who really want to be on these shows, but there’s so much else for me to feel bad about in the world these days that I’m trying to get over this situation.)

And now, watching the show again this summer, I feel the same way that I did last year. The thing that annoys me about all of the iterations of this show is that why, in this age of ever-present internet devices, do so few of these celebrities know how to word the questions to their phone-a-friends???

(L-R) Jamie Ding, host Jimmy Kimmel, and Ben Affleck.

They’re aware that they have only thirty seconds to not only give the question to their friend on the phone, but for the pal to think it over and then answer it. Yet they read the entire question, which usually comes with some long prelude, such as, “A nod to his ancestors’ Irish roots…” And when giving the four possible answers, some of these celebrities even say the letters that are before the choices, such as “A) so-and-so, B) so-and-so, C) so-and-so, D) so-and-so.” Even just saying those four unnecessary letters takes some time off the clock. Am I the only person to realize that?!

Only one celebrity I saw this season, when he was choosing the phone-a-friend, told the host, Jimmy Kimmel, that he needed a minute to formulate how he was going to ask his friend the question. Often when someone uses that lifeline, I pause the TV and have Mr. X ask me the question the way that it should be asked, while I have my fingers on the keyboard of my laptop, and we time it. Rarely have I not been able to give him the correct answer in ten seconds. So I don’t get why these people don’t have it set-up with their phone-a-friend to be sitting in front of a computer! And then ask the question in the easiest and smartest way possible. It just makes me crazy. I’m sure it does the same for the charities for which they’re trying to win the money.

Chloe Fineman and her pal Jillian Bell.

I’m also perplexed by how dumb some of these celeb contestants are!

For example, last season, SNL’s Chloe Fineman and her pal Jillian Bell were idiots who do not know how leap year works! How is that even possible?! I’ve honestly known it since 1st grade!!! It’s a basic concept of life. They thought it occurred every two years. (I sincerely hope the rest of you know it’s every four.) And who even is Jillian Bell??? How is she a “celebrity?!” I’ve never heard of her before nor since that appearance. If being the friend of someone semi-famous qualifies you for celeb status, sign me up right now!

Kal Penn and Jameela Jamil, perhaps laughing at their own stupidity.

And then there was a woman named Jameela Jamil, a moron who even told her partner, Kal Penn, that a “gua sha” is a tool that smooths the skin, but then chose a different answer! The question was, “…gua sha is a trendy wellness technique commonly referred to as what?,” and they used their 50:50 lifeline to narrow it down to two answer choices—“Nerve numbing” or “Skin scraping.” And even though Jamil had just said it had something to do with skin, they decided to…phone a friend! OMG! It was comic actor Patton Oswalt, who also got it wrong! It would have taken him a few seconds to look up “gua sha” if they had spelled it for him, and if he had been prepared for the call by being on a computer! So, they were a trio of idiots! (I’m really surprised about Kal being so dumb.)

On the other hand, I’m impressed by how smart several others are. Just this week, the duo of Jesse Eisenberg and Paul Giamatti blew me away with how they either knew, or figured-out, every single answer. (They deduced the million dollar one, as well, but didn’t want to risk the half mil they had already accrued.)

And I’m ecstatic for the duos who won the million dollars for their charities over the past three seasons: In 2024, it was actor Ike Barinholtz and his father Alan, (although I don’t get how the dad is a celeb.) Then in 2025, Matt Damon and Jeopardy champion and now-host Ken Jennings did it. (Did anyone have any doubts that they would? I sure didn’t.) That one was so fun. Not to be outdone by his bestie, Ben Affleck just won the mil a few weeks ago with his partner, the most recent longstanding Jeopardy champion, young Jamie Ding. The real shock came last summer when The Office actors, Oscar Nuñez and Kate Flannery, who seemed sooooo stupid throughout their competition, won the million! I witnessed it myself, and still don’t know how they did it.

I’m hoping for more big winners in the next few weeks, especially from people who have now learned how to use their phone-a-friend correctly. Glad to have helped!