Many a former Family Feud contestant can attest to all-time great game show host Steve Harvey having little issue calling anyone out for particularly off-base or just plain stupid guesses, and is equally non-hesitant to throw his support behind logically conceived answers. So somebody usually needs to offer quite the bonkers idea to leave him plainly speechless, and it almost never happens with two consecutive answers. And yet that’s exactly what went down during a recent episode’s Face-Off question that involved “sexy dreams.”
As seen in the video below, it was the first Face-Off from the very first round when things immediately dipped into ridiculousness, albeit due to the overtly adult nature of the question, which is a go-to for inspiring hilarious Steve Harvey reactions. Only here, the heads of both the McCullough and Kleid families managed to shock the host into silence, and for totally different reasons. Check it out!
While I personally find it a little cheap and annoying when modern Family Feud hinges so heavily on lewdness for its questions — particularly regarding the unnecessarily filthy alt-answers that show up on the survey board — that Face-Off round is kind of a solid example of why this is one of the best game shows ever, since this isn’t the kind of moment one could ever find on Jeopardy or The Price Is Right.
I mean, it would 100% be a highlight if Drew Carey asked a Price Is Right contestant about their sex dreams, don’t get me wrong. But it’s a sliding scale.
For those who weren’t able to watch, here’s the survey prompt Harvey presented to the contestants: “You know you shouldn’t, but name someone you have sexy dreams about.”
Jarrell McCullough buzzed in so quickly that it seemed he’d have nothing less than a Top 3 answer coming out of his mouth. And yet…here’s what he actually said:
My aunt. [Crowd hoots as Steve Harvey stares.] You said, 'you shouldn't!'
Hilariously enough, Steve Harvey had nothing to offer Jarrell but a slack-jawed stare after hearing that bonkers answer. And to the surprise of perhaps no one in the Family Feud studio that day, "His aunt" was not one of the top 8 answers on the board.
While his effort to explain his answer was admirable, the actual justification makes it seem like he was far more intent on the "shouldn't" part, and not enough on the idea that the dreams happen anyway. But all things considered, I actually was surprised at the end of the round to see that none of the answers involved anything so taboo in a familial context, with "In-Law" covering that base. Which is either worthy of applause, or worthy of suspicion.
Steve Harvey then turned to Jenny Kleid to get her answer, and probably expected something a bit more straightforward from her, only to get a wildly flirtatious response. Despite her first attempt to say it being rudely interrupted by the buzzer, Jenny said it again and sparked a different kind of shocked silence out of Harvey. Her answer for who she has sexy dreams about even though she shouldn’t?
You, Steve.
Okay so he wasn’t completely silent, and muttered out a “Huh? What?” to make sure he heard correctly, even though I’m 99.99% certain Harvey heard everything juuuust fine. I also couldn’t help but chuckle at the meek way he said, “Me?” to see where it landed.
Amazingly enough, Jenny landed the #1 answer on the board under the umbrella term of “Celebrity,” even though Jason Momoa was the star used as a hunky example. Not quite on the same level, those two. But let's not forget the time WWE superstars posited that Harvey would be a good match for Beyoncé and Oprah Winfrey.
Harvey’s jaw remained lowered after the contestant volunteered her fellow Kleid family members to keep playing, and she amusingly apologized for sidelining him in such a way. Don’t be sorry, Jenny! Anytime Steve Harvey mentally blushes is good TV in my book.
Family Feud airs weekdays in syndication, so check your local listings to confirm when it’s playing in your area, and keep your eyes and ears peeled for Celebrity Family Feud, which will begin airing on ABC along with a retrospective special on Tuesday, July 9, and will be available to stream the next day with a Hulu subscription.
