--- title: Ken Jennings Tweets Offensive Joke About Dead Star Wars Fan description: Ken Jennings is coming under fire for yet another offensive tweet. canonical: https://time.com/4107234/ken-jennings-tweets-insensitive-joke-about-dead-star-wars-fan/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-10T22:27:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:48:12.112Z og:title: Ken Jennings Tweets Offensive Joke About Dead Star Wars Fan og:description: He has a history of insensitive tweets og:url: https://time.com/4107234/ken-jennings-tweets-insensitive-joke-about-dead-star-wars-fan/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b17a1245a744fcd/69887068a988ca5dac6b538a/ken-jennings.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: "Jeopardy!" & IBM Man V. Machine Press Conference og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ken Jennings Tweets Offensive Joke About Dead Star Wars Fan twitter:description: He has a history of insensitive tweets twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b17a1245a744fcd/69887068a988ca5dac6b538a/ken-jennings.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ken Jennings Tweets Insensitive Joke About _Star Wars_ Fan Who Just Died > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. 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Ken Jennings attends a press conference on Jan. 13, 2011 in Yorktown Heights, N.Y. Ben Hider—Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Nov 10, 2015 10:27 PM UTC Former _Jeopardy_ star Ken Jennings is coming under fire for a tweet that some found offensive. On Tuesday, he took to Twitter to post about Daniel Fleetwood, a [terminally ill _Star Wars_ fan](http://time.com/4102195/star-wars-the-force-awakens-forcefordaniel-daniel-fleetwood/) who [died Tuesday morning](http://time.com/4106160/star-wars-patient-early-screening/) after getting an early screening of the series’ latest installment. “It can’t be a good sign that every fan who has seen the new Star Wars movie died shortly thereafter,” he wrote. > [](https://twitter.com/KenJennings/status/664148482177929216) Since the tweet was posted, Jennings’ followers have been firing back at him. > [](https://twitter.com/bunnymother/status/664182657358540800) > [](https://twitter.com/chasingkadie/status/664185241343361024) > [](https://twitter.com/lmontheradio/status/664189226880122880) > [](https://twitter.com/operajunky/status/664185126272655360) This isn’t even the first time he has gotten himself in hot water for an insensitive remark on social media. In 2014, he caused outrage with a tweet about disabled people. “Nothing sadder than a hot person in a wheelchair,” he wrote. > [](https://twitter.com/KenJennings/status/514125105426071553) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4107234/ken-jennings-tweets-insensitive-joke-about-dead-star-wars-fan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4107234/ken-jennings-tweets-insensitive-joke-about-dead-star-wars-fan/"},"headline":"Ken Jennings Tweets Insensitive Joke About Star Wars Fan Who Just Died","datePublished":"2015-11-10T22:27:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:48:12.112Z","description":"He has a history of offensive tweets","url":"https://time.com/4107234/ken-jennings-tweets-insensitive-joke-about-dead-star-wars-fan/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Social Media","movies","celebrities","twitter","Star Wars","Fans","films","star wars: the force awakens"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b17a1245a744fcd/69887068a988ca5dac6b538a/ken-jennings.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b17a1245a744fcd/69887068a988ca5dac6b538a/ken-jennings.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"\"Jeopardy!\" & IBM Man V. 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