I watched the program last night, and after Alex gave the "question" Pope Joan, he qualified it with "or Pope John" though to me it sounded like "Pope Jean" (the french pronunciation)
I like to watch Jeopardy for the Catholic questions they often ask, but this was a rally strange one. I've known of this story for years, but know it's never been verified, or even thought of as serious. Some Pope may have euphamistically been known as Pope Joan, but nobody would possibly think he had a baby, or was dragged out of the Vatican and killed.
I would have liked to listen in on the conversation when that "answer" was postulated. It's possible that it was used as a strawman in order to test how many people are watching. (how many call in to complain) They are worried about their ratings since Ken Jennings lost.
There's the problem! If the guy was French, he would likely be mistaken for a woman. After all, just look at French"men" today. To find a man to run their country, they had to find an import from Hungary. And my male cat has been French since he was neutered.