“Wheel of Fortune” fans are not happy after a pretty unfortunate moment when a contestant missed out on the final round because of a timing rule.
The contestant, Charlene, made it to the final round of Tuesday’s episode, where the category was “What are you doing?” After lucking out with some help from the standard “RSTLNE” letters filled in – and guessing the bulk of the rest of the letters to fill out the puzzle – she tried saying the incorrect answer “choosing the right card.” While she ultimately said the right answer, “choosing the right word,” she apparently didn’t meet the show’s standard “pause” length in between guesses.
“This one’s tough because you said all the right words, including the word ‘word’ but as you know, it’s got to be more or less continuous,” host Pat Sajak said. “We’ll allow for a little pause but not four or five seconds. I’m sorry, you did a good job in getting it but we can’t give you the prize and it was the Audi.”
Not an uncommon occurrence:’Wheel of Fortune’ fans call for rule change after contestant loses on minor technicality
Fans aired their grievances on social media after the show aired.
“Wheel of Fortune, you just lost a viewer,” Twitter user @TalinOrfaliGhaz wrote. “‘I am choosing the right word’ to never watch this show again.”
@NoBustLow added succinctly: “Boycott @WheelofFortune” and quote-tweeted a clip from the episode courtesy of Jeopardy! champion Alex Jacob.
“Come on @WheelofFortune, the woman literally chose the right word,” Jacob wrote. “Give her the car.”
USA TODAY has reached out to “Wheel of Fortune” for comment.
This incident follows another just this week where rapper Young Joc’s name was spelled incorrectly (“Young Jock”) in a clue. Fans typically react to the series on social media, whether it’s calling out rules they don’t like or making fun of wrong answers.
But evidently, they’re still watching.
Whoops:’Wheel of Fortune’ contestant gives horribly wrong answer and even Pat Sajak was confused: ‘Uh, no’
