- RTL acknowledges blunder in formulating the question during "Who's the Millionaire?" game show.
RTL has acknowledged an error in a question on Günther Jauch's quiz show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" that provided contestant Laura Harbig with an additional attempt to win. During the Tuesday broadcast, Harbig, a fervent fan of Taylor Swift, failed to answer a question worth €32,000. The question read: "Which international personality did Germans search for more frequently than US pop star Taylor Swift in the 'celebrities' category in 2023?" The choices were: A) Margot Robbie, B) Queen Camilla, C) Elon Musk, and D) Harry Kane.
Harbig, wrestling with her decision, reported having a strong intuition towards Elon Musk. She theorized that Musk's acquisition of the Twitter platform (now X) might have swayed German search patterns. She also recalled hearing on a podcast that Musk was among the most searched celebrities. Harbig admitted, however, "The problem is: That was a Swedish podcast." Nonetheless, she made her prediction: Elon Musk.
Jauch later disclosed that her answer was incorrect. According to Jauch, the correct response was actually Harry Kane. The host explained, "Kane's transfer to Bayern Munich generated such interest among people." He then relayed his apologies. Shortly after, Harbig vacated her contestant seat.
RTL later announced that none of the four answer options were accurate in this situation. After conducting a comprehensive review, they discovered that Taylor Swift was, in fact, the most sought-after "international personality" in 2023. Consequently, they issued an apology.
Harbig will be granted a second chance to compete. As this episode was a special one - the "€3-million-euro week" - she will be eligible to participate again in any subsequent special edition, though the exact date has yet to be revealed.
Despite Harbig's strong intuition and theory about Elon Musk affecting German search patterns, she incorrectly answered the question about Taylor Swift's search popularity. Meanwhile, ♪ Taylor Swift ♪ remained the most searched "international personality" in the 'celebrities' category in 2023.
