Originally hosted by Regis Philbin, a new version of the show helmed by Jimmy Kimmel launched in 2020 and features celebrities competing for charity.
ABC confirmed there had been seven prime-time winners, three syndicated wins, and four celebrity wins, including a $1m win by former Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings and his teammate (and long-term Affleck friend) Matt Damon.
Ding and Affleck were paired to play for Affleck’s longtime non-profit, the Eastern Congo Initiative. The first part of their game aired last week on the season premiere, in which they made it to $250,000 by answering 13 questions in a row.
At this point, the premiere ended, and viewers had to wait a week to see whether the pair could answer two further questions to win US$1m. Their final question was about the names of turkey duos who had been pardoned by US presidents.
The choices were Peanut Butter and Jelly, Tater and Tot, Mac and Cheese, and Spaghetti and Meatball.
Ding and Affleck had no idea and used their final two lifelines: phone a friend (who didn’t know either) and ask the host.
Kimmel, thinking back through his many jokes on his late-night show about turkey pardons, suspected the answer was Spaghetti and Meatball.
Ding and Affleck could have bowed out and gone home with US$500,000, but they chose to go with Kimmel’s guess – and it paid off. They jumped up and embraced as confetti rained down, and a giant cheque was presented for the Eastern Congo Initiative.
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