'Wheel of Fortune' fans bewildered after contestant guesses puzzle correctly but isn't awarded win
"Wheel of Fortune" fans have a lot to say after an episode this week saw Pat Sajak refuse to give the win to a contestant, even though she solved a puzzle.
Shauna Williams was on a roll, guessing letters for a puzzle in the "Same Letter" category. She named the letters until she had filled out the entire phrase, which was "Congenial Company & Clever Conversation," but when host Pat Sajak asked her to read the answer out loud, she mispronounced the first word.
"No," Sajak told her simply before moving onto the next contestant. He gave the correct pronunciation and was given the points.
Viewers reacted strongly to the moment, with several taking to X to discuss it.
"I'm sorry, but mispronouncing Congenial had me upset..." one person admitted.
"They just made this woman look illiterate because congenial pronunciation," another wrote.
One comment read, "I don’t even know what the word #congenial means but I damn sure know it’s not pronounced like that. I’m embarrassed for her honestly . Cause wtf."
Some fans blamed Sajak for being unfair, like the person who wrote, "I think it was a travesty what Pat [Sajak] did to Shauna on last nights show!..Not every can pronounce every work correctly!…She solves the puzzle, and then read it, sadly Pat (yes he needs to go) decided she pronounced the word Congenial wrong!"
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Others believed her pronunciation error was big enough to cost her the win.
"It's not a mispronunciation when someone uses a completely different word," an X user pointed out, explaining they heard the word "conjugal" instead of a simple mispronunciation.
Earlier this week, Sajak had fans talking about the show after he suffered an awkward on-air moment.
Sajak, 77, shuffled through his cue cards as he mistakenly mixed up information about a player’s personal life during the game show episode Monday.
While introducing the "Wheel of Fortune" contestants, Sajak asked a psychiatric nurse practitioner, Jason, about his relationship status.
"Married man?" he asked while referring to his cue cards.
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Jason appeared stunned and confused, as he replied, "No, I’m single, actually."
"You know, I’m sorry," Sajak attempted to laugh off the awkward mistake and apologized.
"I just messed up a card, hold on," the game show host pointed out.
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Sajak joked again, "So you’re a circus acrobat, I see?"
After shrugging off the mistake, he correctly said Jason’s bio, "Paris, Texas, as a single dad to two adopted boys."
"Nice to have you, Jason, forgive me, but it’s been a New Year’s weekend. You have to understand."
Fox News Digital's Stephanie Giang-Paunon contributed to this report.