‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Nick Spicher Loses Money On Flubbed ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ Response, Coolio Responds

Nick Spicher was a contestant on Jeopardy! this week, and lost both money and street cred when he flubbed the title of Coolio‘s 1995 hit “Gangsta’s Paradise.”

JEOPARDY! CONTESTANT FLUBS “GANGSTA’S PARADISE” TITLE

The Double Jeopardy round Music & Literature Before & After question read, “A song by Coolio from Dangerous Minds goes back in time to become a 1667 John Milton classic,” with the correct response being “What is ‘Gangsta’s Paradise Lost.'” Spicher, however, added a hard R sound, turning ‘Gangsta’ into ‘Gangster.’

Host Alex Trebek initially granted the $1600 to the contestant, but a judge later ruled the answer incorrect, and took the $3,200 back from Spicher. Despite the mistake, Spicher went on to win the episode. “Although Nick’s response of ‘Gangster’s Paradise Lost’ was initially accepted, the hard R sound caught the ear of one member of the onstage team, who immediately followed up with a quick check,” the official Jeopardy! website explains. “It turns out that ‘gangsta’ and ‘gangster’ are both listed separately in the Oxford English Dictionary, each with its own unique definition. Nick changed not only the song’s title, but also its meaning ­– making his response unacceptable.”

Rapper Coolio also got involved, telling TMZ that the word causes confusion usually among white people. “This is for white people,” he said. “The ‘E-R’ will always get you in trouble. Never use the ‘E-R.’

Comic Roy Wood Jr. also chimed in to let it be known that one should always “keep it gangsta.” “Let Nick’s mistake be a lesson to us all. In 2018, you gotta keep it gangsta at all times. Never Gangster #Jeopardy.”