Pat Sajak defends Wheel of Fortune contestants from ‘online ridicule’ after they make multiple wrong guesses
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak has defended contestants on the show after a viral clip showed the players making numerous incorrect guesses while attempting to solve a puzzle.
On Tuesday night’s episode of the show, the contestants were tasked with solving the puzzle: “Another feather in your cap.”
While the board was mostly filled out except for a few key letters, the contestants failed numerous times to guess the phrase correctly, prompting many to describe the viral clip as “agonising” and “difficult” to watch.
Others found the six failed attempts “amusing,” with one person claiming that the TV moment was “the funniest thing [they’d] seen in a long time”.
The show’s longtime host has since addressed the “online ridicule” on Twitter, where he defended the contestants and acknowledged the stress placed on them in that moment, which he noted viewers at home cannot comprehend.
“It always pains me when nice people come on our show to play a game and win some money and maybe fulfil a lifelong dream, and are then subject to online ridicule when they make a mistake or something goes awry,” Sajak wrote. “Last night’s ‘feather in your cap’ puzzle was a case in point. Sitting at home, it seems incredible that they couldn’t solve it, but I knew in real time what was happening.”
I'd like to solve... ANOTHER FEATHER IN EVERYTHING BUT YOUR CAP.
Thank you, Wheel, for not editing out 6 of these 8 lost turns in a row like you normally would.#WheelofFortune pic.twitter.com/7MByDsn32p— WheelRob (@WheelRob10) March 2, 2022
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
Last night’s “Feather in your cap” puzzle was a case in point. Sitting at home, it seems incredible that they couldn’t solve it, but I knew in real time what was happening.
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
Sajak, who has been hosting the show since 1981, then recalled how contestant Laura first attempted to solve the puzzle with the guess “feather in your hat,” which he noted is a commonly used variation of the phrase - and that the guess likely threw all of the players off.
“The first attempted solve was ‘feather in your hat’ which, by the way, is how a lot of people say it. So all three players thought it was a good solve, and were stunned when I said it was wrong,” he continued.
The Wheel of Fortune host then urged social media users to “imagine you’re on national TV, and you’re suddenly thrown a curve and you begin getting worried about looking stupid”.
“And if the feather isn’t in your hat, where the heck can it be? You start flailing away looking for alternatives rather than synonyms for ‘hat,’” he wrote, adding: “And, of course, when it’s solved, you want to crawl in a hole.”
Now imagine you’re on national TV, and you’re suddenly thrown a curve and you begin getting worried about looking stupid, and if the feather isn’t in your hat, where the heck can it be? You start flailing away looking for alternatives rather than synonyms for “hat.”
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
And, of course, when it’s solved, you want to crawl in a hole. I’ve been praised online for “keeping it together” and not making fun of the players. Truth is, all I want to do is help to get them through it and convince them that those things happen even to very bright people.
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
Sajak then addressed the comments from those who praised him for “keeping it together” during the show and “not making fun of the players,” with the host noting that the “truth is” all he wants to do is help the contestants get through the round “and convince them that those things happen even to very bright people”.
“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,” Sajak continued in the lengthy Twitter thread, before urging viewers to “cut them some slack”. “Unless you’re there, you have no idea how different it is in the studio.”
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.
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
Good-natured laughter is one thing. Heck, they laughed at themselves. But, hey, cut them some slack. Unless you’re there, you have no idea how different it is in the studio.
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
The game-show host noted that he likes to have fun with the players and “tease them occasionally,” and that “good-natured laughter is one thing,” but that when things go wrong on the show, he feels for the contestants.
He concluded the tweets acknowledging that “it was an oddly entertaining puzzle” and that it’s “okay to laugh,” before reminding viewers to “have a little heart”.
I have fun with players and I tease them occasionally, but when things go wrong, I feel for them, and I try to salve the wounds on camera and off. So, yeah, it was an oddly entertaining puzzle and it’s okay to laugh at the situation. But have a little heart.
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
After all, you may be there one day. And no one wants to be trending on Twitter.
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
“After all, you may be there one day. And no one wants to be trending on Twitter,” he added.
The heartfelt response to the viral video has been met with praise on Twitter, where people have applauded Sajak for coming to the contestants’ defence.
“The social media civility lesson you didn’t know you needed to hear from Pat Sajak,” one person tweeted.
This thread is incredibly sweet and decent—and a thoughtful explanation of the incident, too. https://t.co/lGS74ZIBW8
— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) March 3, 2022
I am one of the people who freaked out on twitter yesterday after that puzzle and honestly after reading this thread I feel a little silly. It's better to just cut folks some slack. And this also goes to show what a stand-up guy Pat Sajak is. https://t.co/dASv6xIhPc
— Joe Chammas (@joechammas) March 2, 2022
A reminder to be kind even when it seems like it won’t make a difference. It does. https://t.co/t4z3OqGdnU
— 🌻 Kaz Weida 🌻 (@kazweida) March 2, 2022
Incredible thread. Internet trolls rarely put themselves in the shoes of their targets. We would all do well to remember that a little compassion goes a long way. https://t.co/kdg0J1eEOL
— Christine Myatt (@ChristineMyatt) March 2, 2022
Another said: “This is a great example of humanity and compassion. Thank you, Pat. #WheelOfFortune.”
“The video was funny, but Sajak is not just right to defend his show’s contestants, he’s also right that people should not be needlessly cruel online to folks who went on a game show,” someone else wrote.