It’s been one month since Ryan Seacrest took over hosting Wheel of Fortune from Pat Sajak, who had hosted the iconic game show for 43 years. Since taking over as host, Seacrest has struggled to win over fans, many of whom feel that he hasn’t measured up to Sajak.
Now, things have gotten even worse for Seacrest, as he’s being accused of having ruined a contestant’s chances.
Seacrest’s Latest Wheel Of Fortune Controversy
After Tuesday’s episode of Wheel of Fortune, fans took to social media to accuse Seacrest of buzzing a contestant before the time was up.
When contestant Jamel Vanderburg reached the bonus round, he selected the category “Phrase” before choosing “WYPA” as his additional letters. As the ten second timer began, Vanderburg had to figure out the puzzle from “‘ALWAYS’ ‘_N’ ‘_E_AN_’”
“Always On…Always On Demand!” Vanderburg shouted.
Vanderburg looked for confirmation that he was correct, but it never came.
“No, no,” Seacrest said to him as the letters started to fill in, with the puzzle being revealed to be ““Always In Demand.”
However, fans were quick to notice that Seacrest did this despite there still being time left on the timer. Check out the uncomfortable moment for yourself in the video below.
Related: Vanna White Forced To Step In After Ryan Seacrest Flubs On ‘Wheel Of Fortune’
Fans Slam Seacrest
Fans fired back in Vanderberg’s defense by blasting Seacrest on social media.
“@WheelofFortune Jamal got screwed! They buzzed him with time still on the clock!” one fan commented. Another added, “@WheelofFortune Ryan Seacrest screwed Jamel out of the last 3 seconds of his puzzle tonight! Yall owe Jamel a redo! And an apology!”
“I can now say with pride. Wheel Of Fortune has become the most rigged game show since Seacrest joined the cast,” a third social media user wrote. “I’m done following the show. Who shall join me! #wheeloffortune.”
Seacrest has struggled to win over fans since taking over as the host of Wheel of Fortune. Recently, a thread went viral on the social media site Reddit criticizing Seacrest for the way that he dresses compared to Sajak.
“The most obvious difference is how they dress,” the Reddit user wrote. “Pat always (almost) wore a suit or sports coat, and always with a tie.”
“For me, it was a nod to a classic look that has been lost over time. Ryan tends to wear sport jackets with open collar shirts,” the user continued. “Perhaps it’s due to their generation gap of 27 years. Or the show’s producers saw it as part of the modernization of WOF. But thankfully the nixed the idea of replacing Vanna [White} with an animatronic.”
Seacrest’s Rough Start
Seacrest got off to a rough start in his very first episode hosting Wheel of Fortune last month. Indeed, fans were livid that Seacrest never mentioned Sajak by name during the season premiere. The backlash got to be so great that a source close to Seacrest spoke out afterwards to defend him.
“Ryan is not used to taking over as a host for anything,” the insider told Daily Mail. “He is used to starting ventures so for him to do this is new.”
“He has spent months and months honoring Pat,” the source continued. “But Pat is gone, and Ryan is taking the show and the audience in a new direction. Pat didn’t wish him luck publicly.”
Seacrest’s latest incident will likely do nothing to help him win over any additional fans. It will certainly be interesting to see if he is able to last on Wheel of Fortune longterm!
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