Pat Sajak Defends ‘Wheel Of Fortune’ Players Who Failed To Answer Common Phrase Puzzle: Have A ‘Little Heart’
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Pat Sajak addressed a viral moment no one could stop talking about when a contestant failed to solve the puzzle three times on ‘Wheel Of Fortune.’
Pat Sajak, 74, is known for having a jokey and sarcastic persona while hosting Wheel Of Fortune but the game show host left viewers with a very serious message after last night’s show. Twitter erupted when one contestant named Laura got the puzzle wrong not once not twice but thrice. While many viewers poked fun at the situation or expressed exasperation over how she could’ve possibly not gotten it, the longtime host encouraged viewers to approach the situation with more compassion.
“It always pains me when nice people come on our show to play a game and win some money and maybe fulfill a lifelong dream, and are then subject to online ridicule when they make a mistake or something goes awry,” he tweeted. He shared that while he understood the puzzle seemed ridiculously easy from home, the pressure of being on national TV can throw contestants off.
It always pains me when nice people come on our show to play a game and win some money and maybe fulfill a lifelong dream, and are then subject to online ridicule when they make a mistake or something goes awry.
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
For context, the common word puzzle was “feather in your cap.” When the contestant first guessed “hat,” he claimed that “all three players thought it was a good solve, and were stunned when I said it was wrong.” He then shared that the contestant’s panicked instinct was to look for “alternative” words rather than “synonyms” which is what lead her to guess “lap” and “map” rather than “cap.”
He wrote that it’s ok to have a laugh about it as he and the contestants did “but mocking them online and calling them names? These are good people in a bad situation under a kind of stress that you can’t begin to appreciate from the comfort of your couch.” In conclusion, Pat asked for viewers to “have a little heart” and reminded them that “no one wants to be trending on Twitter.”
The dumbest two minutes in Wheel of Fortune history https://t.co/8vlSIfHcWE
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) March 2, 2022
Unfortunately, that’s what happened to Laura after her triple fail. Many viewers reposted videos of the embarrassing moment and some had their own quips to make about it. “A woman on Wheel of Fortune got this puzzle wrong three times. I’m yelling at the television like I’m watching a football game,” one user wrote, while another shared a clip of the moment added, “The dumbest two minutes in Wheel of Fortune history.”