Fans Call Out 'Wheel of Fortune' Host on Social Media for Mess-Up During Episode
Pat Sajak and Vanna White are two of the most beloved people on television — but even their high standing can’t keep them from a little fan annoyance every now and then.
While Sajak has been with the popular show since 1982, his recent alleged gaffe has hardcore fans up in arms and storming online to find others who heard the same mispronunciation they did.
The issue took place after the Nov. 8 episode, which featured veterans as contestants in light of the coming holiday.
Contestant Angela Evans, a former Marine and current realtor (according to her Twitter account), was calling out a letter that ultimately helped her solve the puzzle: the question is, did she say the necessary “d” that Sajak ran with, or did she actually say — as many viewers maintain — “b”?
The clip doesn’t show her face, so lip-reading isn’t really an option. The letters up on the board were “_rin_ing from a _o_on_t.” Evans landed on $800 and called out her letter.
“One ‘d,'” Sajak said, and Vanna White touched the board to reveal the letter.
Next, Evans spun the wheel and got $1,000 that she used to correctly guess “k,” giving her the word “Drinking.” It was a short jump from there to solving the phrase: “Drinking from a coconut.”
But fans were not happy, insisting that Sajak misheard Evans and handed her the win on a silver platter.
“SHE SAID B!!!!! NOT D!!!” tweeted one indignant fan. “She shouldn’t have won this round Pat!!! Wow.”
SHE SAID B!!!!! NOT D!!! She shouldn’t have won this round Pat!!! Wow. #WheelOfFortune pic.twitter.com/t43o2cOK2V
— Di✨ (@lakeside_23) November 8, 2019
If that had been the only flub, perhaps the peanut gallery would have quieted down — but it was not, so they did not.
A little later on, the d/b distinction came up again when Evans listed off her letter choices for the bonus round. The screen showed her call as “B,” “H,” “D” and “A” — but during filming Sajak was apparently not quite clear on what she’d said.
“By the way, the third consonant was a D. Is that what you said? B-H-D?” he asked, pausing the game to confirm.
Either Evans’ pronunciation of the two consonants is nearly indistinguishable, or she wasn’t tracking, either. Her answer didn’t help clarify much.
“No, B,” it sounded like she responded, which prompted Sajak to say “No, first one was B then you called an H.” It sounded like she then said “D,” but by that time the damage was done.
Evans did not end up winning that puzzle anyway, but viewers were still upset that she won the first one in what they thought was an unfair way, stealing away the win from the other two contestants who weren’t “cheating.”
@George_Back meanwhile…I’m just a girl trying to make people understand my D’s are not B’s! ??♀️??
— Angela (@myrealtorangela) November 8, 2019
On Twitter, Evans maintains that she said “D” during the initial puzzle and won that round fair and square.
To commenters on one tweet claiming she’d said “B” earlier, she responded “You are not a very good lip reader,” “Nope. D as in Definitely said D” and generally challenged people’s honesty and hearing.
Whether or not Evans got a little extra help from Sajak’s misunderstanding, she walked away with nearly $20,000 in prizes, according to the New York Post.
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