Wheel of Fortune: Onscreen blunders and historic moments over the years

Wheel of Fortune, a popular long-running game show, is currently airing season 41. The latest season premiered on September 11, 2023 and will wrap up on June 7, 2024, with Pat Sajak serving as host for the last time.

The host has been a part of the show since 1981 and he announced his forthcoming exit from the show in June 2023 before the premiere of season 41. The show has become a fan-favorite as viewers get to watch contestants sweat to win money by guessing words and spinning the wheel.

Since its inception in 1975, the game show has provided viewers with entertainment, excitement, and every once in a while, a moment that is hard to forget. The list includes mispronunciations, missed opportunities, and blunders by the crew.

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Wheel of Fortune: Pat Sajak snapped at contestants on various occasions

In Wheel of Fortune's long-running history, it has seen several moments that are forever etched in viewers' minds. Few of these moments include Pat Sajak and his interactions with the contestants.

In November 2020, the gameshow host yelled at a contestant on screen. Darin, a contestant who won a hefty amount, argued over the phrase that he correctly guessed - "kitchen oven." Although he won the money, he wasn't convinced that people use the phrase. Sajak responded:

"Don'! You won! Don't argue, Darin! You got the puzzle. Ungrateful players, I've had it."

However, that wasn't the only time the Wheel of Fortune crew member was rude to a contestant. In another episode, he snapped at Sheryl for interrupting her. He said:

"Never, never interrupt a plus. You can do anything else but don't interrupt. I'm sorry, what'd you want to do?"

In March 2023, the Wheel of Fortune season 41 host once again snapped at a contestant when he asked her to "please solve the darn puzzle." After the contestant answered correctly, Pat Sajak called it a "horrible moment" because "Everyone in America" knew the answer.

That wasn't all, the game show host once accidentally solved a puzzle but the contestant didn't catch on to the hint. In 2021, the board read "_ _ _ T E _ R A N _ L _ _" The correct answer was 'Quite Frankly," which Sajak had used in a sentence as the contestant was trying to solve the puzzle.

After the segment aired, Pat Sajak spoke to his co-host Vanna White about the same and noted that he realized it the second he said it. He wondered how many people watching the show had caught the clue.

"There weren't many letters up there and I said, 'I'd rather be here than there, quite frankly' - which was the puzzle. But it goes to show you that people are concentrating and they're not paying any attention to them."

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Missed chances

While there were several incidents pertaining to the gameshow's crew, often times, contestants missed out on the big bucks over small mistakes. In December 2021, contestant Charlene Rubush was competing in the bonus round when she guessed "Choosing the right card" and later changed her answer to "Choosing the right word."

The contestant lost out on the prize since she hesitated to complete her answer before the buzzer rang. He told her that she said all the right words, but it had to be continuous.

In an episode of Wheel of Fortune that aired in 2014, a contestant missed out on the prize for pronouncing the word, Achilles, wrong. He spoke to the Indiana Star about his time on the show and noted that he didn't have a lot of time to process what was going on, which led him to mispronounce Achilles, and lose out on $1 million.

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Wheel of Fortune season 41 will drop the next episode on March 4, 2024 on Pluto TV.