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Fans boo after 'Wheel of Fortune' contestant gets 'unfair' puzzle with worth $1 million

The fans couldn't keep their cool.

via Wheel of Fortune/YouTube

Contestant gets a very tough 'Wheel of Fortune' puzzle.

The usually respectful crowd at a “Wheel of Fortune” taping aired on Wednesday, May 22, couldn’t hold back after they felt that a puzzle given to finalist Rob Dodson was too harsh. A big reason for their outrage (and why the puzzle was so tricky) was because $1 million was on the line.

Before the puzzle, Dodson chose from a selection of cards that held the prize he would win for solving it. Amongst the cards was the $1 million jackpot, so, understandably, tensions were high. Did Dodson choose the million-dollar card? Will he solve the puzzle under the “What Are You Doing Category”?

Well, things didn’t start too great.

After the usual R, S, T, L, N, and E were put up on the board, Dodson was looking at “_ _ _ _ _ L _ N _.” He quickly guessed C, H, P and A, none of which appeared on the board. He then guessed “funneling” and “finding,” but they didn’t work.

The final answer: “Quibbling.”

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

After the solution to the puzzle was revealed, the audience began to boo because they didn’t think it was fair. It had 2 Bs in the short answer, started with a Q and was a word that isn’t used often in casual conversation. The crowd’s reaction was an excellent show of support for Dodson, who encouraged the crowd to keep going by raising his hands.

Host Pat Sajak, 77, pushed back against the boos, jokingly asking the audience, “Who asked you?”

So, would Dobson have won the $1 million if he guessed quibbling? Nope. The card he chose would have earned him an Infiniti car if he had guessed correctly. But all in all, it wasn’t a bad outing for Dodson, a father of 2 from Aurora, Ohio. He managed to win $33,500 against Venetia Brown ($7,550) and Jessica Huffman ($2,000).

The tough puzzle earned a lot of boos on social media as well. Twitter was lit up with people who thought that Dodson got cheated by being given a challenging puzzle with a word seldom used in conversation.



Big changes are in store for “Wheel of Fortune” in the coming weeks. The final episode with Sajak as host will air on June 7. Sajak has been the host of “Wheel” since 1981. Vanna White, his co-host since 1982, will remain with the show. “I couldn’t be happier to have shared the stage with you for all these years with one more to come," she wrote on X last year after Sajak announced this would be his last season. "Cheers to you."


Sajak has been a beloved host on "Wheel of Fortune," earning 19 Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Game Show Host and winning three times. In 2019, he set a Guinness World Record for the longest career as a game show host for the same show, beating the previous record held by Bob Barker.

ryan seacrest, seacrest out, uso, wheel of fortune, tv personalities Ryan Seacrest, television and radio host and producer, hosts the 2016 USO Gala, Washington, D.C., Oct. 20, 2016.via Jim Greenhill from McLean, USA/Wikimedia Commons

A familiar face replaced Sajak, Ryan Seacrest, best known for his work on “American Idol” and “Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year's Eve.” "I can't wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White," he said after it was announced he was the new host. So, how did he do after taking over the coveted role of host? The first week that Seacrest took over for Sajack, the ratings took a giant leap, bringing in the most viewers since 2015, making it he number one syndicated show that week. Time will tell if Seacrest can replace Sajak's magic, but he has time; reports show that he has signed on for the gig into the 2030s.

This article originally appeared last year and has been updated.

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Wheel of Fortune fans slam show after contestant was 'robbed' over minor mispronunciation

It cost her $40,000

Van Nam Vlog/Youtube

That wasn't sa-FAIR-i.

Should Wheel of Fortune contestants be disqualified over mispronounced words? This has been a topic of debate since the game show first aired back in 1975, more or less. It becomes an especially tricky conversation when factoring in a player’s accent, which many folks say shouldn’t cause them to lose their winnings if indeed their guess was correct on a puzzle solve.

This conundrum recently reared its ugly head for the show’s February 3rd episode, during which Arzice Salonga, a single mom from Medina, Ohio, (keep this in mind for later) buzzed in to solve the opening $1,000 Tossup puzzle—a two-word “Event” which read: “A F _ I _ _ N / _ A _ A _ _” on the board.

Salonga correctly guessed “African Safari,” however, pronounced it “Sa-FAIR-ee,” which was deemed incorrect. Fellow contestant Brian Nelson then swooped in with the correct pronunciation and nabbed the $1,000 prize.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

“Yes, safari is the way you have to say that,” host Ryan Seacrest said to a shocked Salonga. “I just checked with our judges to make sure.”

Online, fans quickly came to Salonga’s defense. Especially on Reddit, where one person said “That was cheap. I didn’t think they were so fussy on pronunciation.”

Another added, “She was robbed IMO.”


Still another wrote, ““100 percent bull**** on that puzzle. She got screwed. I know pronunciations matter but, like…there’s been way worse.”

And here’s where the accent issue came up. A few surmised that the mispronunciation was actually more of a dialect thing, and shouldn’t be counted against her.

“I think it was such a mistake by the show. It sounds to me like she has a slight accent of some sort, which shouldn’t be a determining factor. If she had spelled it, it would have been right,” wrote one person.

“I thought her pronunciation was just a regional dialect,” echoed another.

Ohio does, in fact, have three distinct regional accents. The Midland one in particular, which is the most common regional accent, pronounces words like "merry", "Mary", and "marry" the same way. Meaning that it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for someone from this area to pronounce a word like “safari” as “sa-fair-ee.”

Still, a few felt the show was in the right for the disqualification. One person said, “I’m gonna go against the grain. Wheel is a show about words. You should pronounce the words correctly to win.”

Of course, there have been other times when Wheel of Fortune’s stringent rules have cost contestants their prize money, including one infamous episode where a contestant lost his chance at the $1 million prize due to mispronouncing “Mythological Hero Achilles.” But this strict mandate seems to only really come into question when the pronunciation is due to an accent, as when one contestant's Southern accent caused her to say “Seven swans a-swimmin'!" rather than “Seven swans a-swimming.” Or another contestant named Neetu whose accent made it sound like he said “In A Moment's Notice” rather than “At A Moment's Notice.”

Unlike a puzzle on the show, maybe there’s not one right answer to solve this dilemma, and we should make room for some nuance. At the same time, what’s a game without rules? Thankfully most of us don’t need to worry about it. But if you do plan on trying to win big, maybe do a quick review of proper pronunciations before spinning that wheel, just to be safe.

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Fans are in stitches after woman's wildly incorrect, whimsical 'Wheel of Fortune' guess

The show took a turn for the bizarre.

@Rick_Life_Coach/X

Can you solve this "Wheel of Fortune" puzzle?

Is there any game show that allows contestants to royally embarrass themselves on national TV quite like “Wheel of Fortune”? There’s always someone going viral for taking a big swing and missing on a phrase that seemed pretty apparent to the casual viewer. And when you take a big loss on a “Wheel of Fortune'' word puzzle, there are a lot of folks shaking their heads at home. More than 8 million people watch the game show every night.

The latest victim of the wheel is Gishma Tabari from Encino, California, whose fantasy-inspired whiff of a common phrase earned her a lot of groans and some support from those who thought her imagination was inspiring. The 3-word puzzle read: “TH _ _ RITI _ S _ GR _ E,” and Tabari offered the answer, “The British Ogre.” The guess surprised host Pat Sajak, who responded, "Uh, no.” Tabari must have missed that there was a space between the R and the E in the puzzle, so ogre would have had to be spelled with 2 Rs.

She also probably wasn’t aware that England isn’t a place known for its ogres.

The correct answer was: “The Critics Agree.”

The answer inspired a lot of activity on X, where people couldn’t believe someone could come up with such a fanciful answer to a puzzle with such a straightforward solution.

Michael created a lovely Photoshop image of what could be the British Ogre.

Not everyone had a problem with the guess.

The incorrect guess is an opportunity for the world to learn that ogres aren’t a significant part of English folklore. Sure, there are characters in English myths and legends that have ogre-like qualities, such as Grendel from "Beowulf," the monstrous creature that terrorizes the mead hall of King Hrothgar. There’s also the Boggart, a mischievous spirit much like a hobgoblin and trolls, which appear in some English tales although they originate in Scandinavia.

If you’re looking for ogres in Europe, France is the best place to go.

The word ogre is of French descent and comes from the name of the Etruscan god of the underworld, Orcus. Orcus is a large, ugly, bearded giant who enjoys consuming human flesh. Ogres are primarily known for eating children, which they believe will give them eternal life.

As for “Wheel of Fortune,” the show will undergo significant changes over the next few years. The show’s host, Pat Sajak, 76, has announced that he is stepping down from the show at the end of the 2024 season after hosting it for 41 years. In September 2024, radio host and “American Idol” emcee Ryan Seacrest will take over the hosting spot.

Seacrest says that changes to the show will be minimal once he takes over.

“With this game show, it’s such a success and has been for generations,” Seacrest said in a new interview with People. “You don’t mess with it, just don’t mess with it. Just get out of the way, say ‘good evening,’ and let’s play.”


This article originally appeared last year.

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‘Wheel of Fortune’ contestant immediately regrets his hilariously wrong answer to an easy puzzle

“I can’t breathe. I am laughing so hard."

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Will Jodran has a hilarious answer on "Wheel of Fortune."

The Monday, November 11, Veteran’s Day episode of “Wheel of Fortune” featured military veterans competing for cash and prizes. But it’ll probably be best remembered for a hilarious answer given by Coast Guard veteran Will Jordan.

Jordan is a veteran police officer working as a school resource officer in Newington, Connecticut.

During Round 1` under the “Phrase” category, Jordan faced a 6-word puzzle that read “_ _ _ E / _ O U R S E _ F / A / R O U N _ / O F / A _ _ _ A U S E.” At that point, Jordan thought he had the answer and proudly proclaimed, “I’d like to solve.” His answer was as strange, to say the least: “Treat Yourself A Round Of Sausage.”

First of all, sausage doesn’t start with an “A.” Second, have you ever heard anyone say they’re going to eat a “round” of sausage? People will treat someone to a round of beer or golf. But sausage, not so much.



When the phrase came out of his mouth, Jordan seemed to realize he was wrong by yelling quickly, “No.” Kitina Thomas, a retired Air Force vet from San Antonio, Texas, followed up Jordan’s incorrect guess with the correct answer: “Give Yourself A Round Of Applause.”

“Yeah, that’s it,” host Ryan Seacrest said. “Although, Will, I kind of like yours better. That sounds better than just clapping right now.” At the end of the game, Army Reserves veteran Chantel Toran took first place with $13,000, Thomas made $10,500, while Jordan finished in third with $8,000. He says he will use the money to take his family on a cruise.

Viewers took to social media to share their thoughts on Jordan’s hilarious answer.

“I think he realized he didn’t know right after he said he’d like to solve,” an X user wrote.

“I don't know how Vanna keeps a straight face the whole time. Hahaha,” an X user added.

“I can’t breathe. I was laughing so hard. He was so confident, too. “I’D LIKE TO SOLVE!” said one Reddit user.



When the game was over, Jordan told Maggie Sajak, former host Pat Sajak’s daughter, that he was so starstruck that it screwed up his performance. "I tell you when the lights go on and you know the stars—Ryan Seacrest, Vanna White. I just went blank."

But he hoped Sajak’s father would get a kick out of his outlandish answer. "If your dad in retirement is watching this show, maybe cracks a beer and gets a laugh, then it was worth it,” Jordan said. Pat Sajak, who hosted “Wheel of Fortune” for 41 seasons, recently handled over the reigns of the show to “Kelly and Ryan” host Ryan Seacrest.

Ultimately, Jordan is a little scared about what he may have to deal with when he returns home to Connecticut. "I'm sure I'm going to have sausages in my locker and police car when I get back. We'll try to have some fun with it,” he joked.

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