'Family Feud' host Steve Harvey admits that he was scared when contestants raised a war cry

The host remembered the times he was bullied as a young kid after hearing the chant.

PUBLISHED OCT 22, 2025

Screenshots showing the contestant and Steve Harvey on "Family Feud." (Cover Image Source: YouTube | Family Feud)

Steve Harvey never spares any "Family Feud" contestant for stupid answers, and even celebrities get roasted. But one contestant scared the host, who even admitted that on screen. This was one of those rare moments in which a family had intimidated the host, and they did so with a war chant, which was terrifying.

Screenshot showing the Ulutoa family. (Image credit: YouTube | Family Feud)

It happened in the opening segment of the show as the host was introducing the two families. One of them was the Burfict family, and the other was the Ulutoa family. Harvey walked over to meet the members of the latter, and asked a woman named Tiana to introduce her family members. She said that they wanted to perform a war chant, led by her father, Sika, before moving forward with the game.

Sika sprang into action, shouting out the chant in his heavy, husky voice, as the rest of the family joined. He had the most terrifying facial expressions as well. Harvey was left stunned for a few seconds after hearing this, and that is when he remembered something from his past. Turns out that as a child, Harvey used to be bullied a bit, and those experiences taught him to keep his mouth shut in certain situations. He said that this was one of those moments.

Screenshot showing Steve Harvey with the Ulutoa family. (Image credit: YouTube | Family Feud)

“I’m gonna be honest with you,” Harvey said, addressing the audience in the studio. “Over the course of my life, growing up where I have come from, I’ve gotten my a** whooped several times. And it’s those memories that hold me and keep me from opening my damn mouth to avoid it happening again. And these are one of those moments right here,” he added. From this, it was clear that the war chant was effective.

Tiana then introduced the rest of her family, and then it was time to play the game. The host asked a question, “Name something that a guy might do when he notices a cute girl checking him out in the gym.” Tiana got to her buzzer first and said, “Ask her out.” Her answer was number four on the board, and higher than her opponent’s answer.

Screenshot showing Steve Harvey with the contestants on the podium. (Image credit: YouTube | Family Feud)

As a result, the Ulutoa family got the chance to play further. Unfortunately, their confidence, after the war cry, did not help them much in the round. The family started the round fairly well but had conceded all three strikes after just getting four answers right. This gave the Burfict family a chance to steal the game, and they made the most of it to win the game.