Elle King's IQ Test Plot Twist: The Real Story Behind Her Autism Diagnosis

Sometimes life’s biggest revelations hit you when you least expect them. For singer Elle King, that moment arrived right after she committed to Fox’s new game show Nation’s Dumbest—a celebrity competition that celebrates hilarious mistakes and blunders. The irony? She’d just discovered she was autistic, and suddenly everything clicked into place.

In an exclusive conversation with Us Weekly on Thursday, July 9, the 37-year-old Ex’s&Oh’s singer opened up about the timing. She revealed that the name alone triggered a moment of self-doubt.“Right before the show, I was like,‘Oh my gosh.’[I was] starting to panic,‘There is a scenario that you could be the nation’s dumbest,'”she recalled. So King did what many people do when they need reassurance: she took an IQ test. Then another one. Both times, she scored 132—well above the average of 100 and in the range of estimated genius-level intellect (for context, Albert Einstein’s IQ was estimated at around 160).

The plot thickens when you learn that King had revealed her autism diagnosis in May via a candid Facebook post captioned“good news is, im autistic.”For her, the diagnosis wasn’t a setback—it was a liberation.“Everything makes so much sense now,”she told Us Weekly. Understanding autism has already reshaped how she moves through the world. The Grammy nominee has implemented what she calls“safety barricades,”surrounding herself with people who make her feel secure and pursuing activities that bring genuine joy.

What’s striking about King’s journey is how she’s reframing neurodivergence not as a limitation but as context. She’s been open about other diagnoses too—OCD and Tourette’s syndrome, revealed during an appearance on Bunnie XO’s“Dumb Blonde”podcast in 2024. Rather than letting these labels define her, she’s using them as tools for self-understanding.“It’s so important to continue,”she said.“I’m still learning…I just don’t want to do things the way that I used to do it.”

Nation’s Dumbest, which debuts on Fox Wednesday, July 15, at 9 p.m. ET with repeats on Hulu the following day, features a roster of celebrities including Dr. Drew Pinsky, Carmen Electra, Ice-T, Steve-O, Hilaria Baldwin, and JoJo Siwa, all competing to avoid the titular title. King joins a show that flips the script on traditional competition formats—where coming in last is the thing no one wants. It’s a fitting vehicle for someone who’s spent her career turning unexpected chapters into something real and authentic. This time, she’s doing it while being fully herself.