Alex Trebek became visibly emotional after a contestant used his final “Jeopardy!” round to deliver a touching message of support on Monday.
Dhruv Gaur, the 2018 college champion, wrote “What is ‘we [heart] you Alex’” as his answer. Trebek read it aloud as “What is ‘we love you Alex.’” “That’s very kind of you, thank you,” Trebek replied with his voice cracking. The in-studio audience responded with “awwws” and laughs in support. Watch the touching moment above.
Trebek revealed in March that he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, but vowed to battle the disease. The news of his diagnosis came just months after Trebek renewed his contract with Sony Pictures Television to stay on as host of “Jeopardy!” through 2022. After undergoing treatment, Trebek announced in May that he was in “near remission.”
He returned to hosting “Jeopardy!” in August, but announced in September that he was undergoing chemotherapy again after revealing that he lost a large amount of weight and his “numbers went sky high.”
In November, he filmed a global public service announcement for World Pancreatic Day, saying, “I wish I had known sooner that the persistent stomach pain that I experienced prior to my diagnosis was a symptom of pancreatic cancer.”
“I’ve lived a good life, a full life, and I’m nearing the end of that life. I know that,” he said in an interview in October. “I’m not going to delude myself. So if it happens, it happens. Why should I be afraid that?”
#WeLoveYouAlex began trending on Twitter Monday evening as the “Jeopardy” episode — the first of the Tournament of Champions semifinals — aired.
Last week, standout player James Holzhauer easily advanced to this week’s semifinals round. The semifinals air through Wednesday with the two-night final airing Thursday and Friday. All of the Tournament of Champions contestants have donned purple ribbons while competing to raise awareness for pancreatic cancer.