Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion Harini Logan outsmarted late-night TV comedian Jimmy Kimmel during a spelling contest on his Thursday show. As a result, the San Antonio 14-year-old will be going to Disneyland.
Kimmel, a two-time Kenny Guinn Jr. High School spelling bee champ, faced off against Logan in the 17th Annual Jimmy Kimmel Live Spelling Bee. Sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez, former boxer Mike Tyson and Kimmel’s cousin Sal served as judges.
“It’s a competition, and I don’t care how old she is,” Kimmel joked as the contest got underway.
Rodriguez, whose first language is Spanish, and the former boxer known for his lisp took turns butchering the pronunciation of words such as “Vanquish” — which Rodriguez pronounced as “van-kees,” and phenomenon, which he pronounced “peni-mini-mo.”
After two rounds of both competitors struggling to understand, Logan came out on top for correctly spelling “mischievous.” Or as Rodriguez says “misk-y-voos.” Logan only correctly deciphered the word after an exhausted Kimmel whispered the correct pronunciation in her ear.
As champion, the 8th grader from San Antonio’s Montessori School and her family will go on a Disneyland trip courtesy of Kimmel.
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This article appears in Jun 15-28, 2022.
