19 Outrageous, Problematic, And Scandalous Game Show Moments That Are Ingrained In My Brain

1.This Who Wants to Be a Millionaire contestant would read the answers aloud, and then his wife would cough when he read the correct choice. They were caught, had to return the money, and were forced to pay a fine.

A man thinking about a question, and a woman covering her mouth with her hand with the text "coughing during the right answer to CHEAT"
GSN

2.On The Gong Show, the "Popsicle twins" came out for a bizarre Popsicle skit, which was suggestive AF for the '70s.

Two teenage girls sit onstage while licking and sucking on ice pops
GSN

3.This guy, Rodney Alcala, won The Dating Game. Turns out, he was a serial killer.

Arrow pointing to a laughing man wearing eyeglasses and sitting next to two clapping, smiling men
elizabeth orr / Via youtube.com

4.When this Jeopardy! contestant was smug to Alex Trebek after Trebek corrected his pronunciation twice.

5.And when Trebek called this contestant a "loser" after she said she loved "nerdcore hip-hop."

Woman saying "It's people who identify as nerdy, rapping about the things they love, video games, sci-fi, having a hard time meeting romantic partners" and Alex says, "Losers, in other words"
NBC

6.This woman's Wheel of Fortune loss became a national headline after she said "Seven Swans a-Swimmin'" instead of "Seven Swans a-Swimming."

Contestant with Pat Sajak with the text "It's swimming, not swimmin'" next to a photo of the phrase showing missing letters: "Se_en s__n _-s__mm_ng"
ABC

7.This 12-year-old misspelled "the Emancipation Proclamation" — which was the right answer — and lost Jeopardy!, leading to social media outrage.

Young boy showing the spelling "What is the Emanciptation Proclamation" and the amount of $9,600
NBC

8.This guy used a fake identity on Super Password because he was wanted for credit card fraud, forgery, and insurance fraud. He was eventually caught when he went to retrieve his prize money.

Smiling guy with a beard and his hand in a cast smiling at a woman, both of them seated
GSN

9.This man guessed the exact price of a product on The Price Is Right and his wife guessed within $500 of her product, leading to suspicions about them.

A man with "23743" above "trailer" and a woman with "30525" above trips
TV Land

10.This man on Whammy memorized the computer pattern and was able to win over $100,000. It wasn't technically cheating, but it was scandalous during 1984.

A smiling man with a beard in a square surrounded by smaller squares filled with numerical amounts

The contestant was later involved in a Ponzi scheme, which caused him to go on the run.

GSN

11.And in another scandalous-but-not-cheating situation, this man won $100,000, not by knowing the information but by reading the host's body language.

A man pondering the question
WIN

12.This dude dropped the f-bomb on teen Jeopardy! after answering incorrectly.

Bespectacled teenager boy in a tie with the text "Who is Kidman?" Trebek: No; "Fuck!"
GSN / Via youtube.com

13.This couple was asked to pick which of these items was sold in stores first, and they correctly answered Post-its. However, they lost $800,000 because the show said it was wrong. The show apologized and invited them back.

Question: Which of these was sold in stores first? Macintosh computer, Sony Walkman, or Post-it Notes
GSN, ABC

14.This woman was caught using Shazam, an app that identifies songs as they play, during a Spanish Name That Tune–like game show.

Smiling woman holding up a cellphone
Abenia TVB

15.This wife admitted on The Moment of Truth that she cheated on her husband.

Game show set with the question, "Since you've been married, have you ever had sexual relations with someone other than your husband?"
Fox

16.Then in the end, when she made it to the $200,000 question, she lied and lost all the money.

Close-up of woman looking stunned
Fox

17.This guy was supposed to guess the price of an item but just straight-up pressed the reveal button, causing Bob Barker to walk off on The Price Is Right.

CBS

18.This Family Feud contestant wouldn't shake Steve Harvey's hand.

FamilyFeud / Via youtube.com

19.And lastly, this guy had a very NSFW answer during Family Feud.

Steve: Name something you strap on; answer: A dildo
FamilyFeud / Via youtube.com