Vanna White Forced To Step In After Ryan Seacrest Flubs On ‘Wheel Of Fortune’
It’s been one month since Ryan Seacrest took over hosting Wheel of Fortune from the legendary Pat Sajak. Unfortunately for Seacrest, he’s struggled to win over fans of the beloved game show.
Now, things have gotten even worse for Seacrest. Indeed, he just suffered a major flub that had his co-host Vanna White being forced to step in to help.
Seacrest’s Embarrassing Flub
During the Wheel of Fortune episode that aired last Friday, Seacrest kept a contestant in suspense by pausing too long after they solved a puzzle correctly.
Contestant Cody Hunger was playing a bonus round after winning the weeklong BetMGM Big Winners Tournament. He chose a puzzle in the “phrase” category for his final challenge.
Before attempting to solve the puzzle, Hunger chose the letters “C, D, Y, O” to help him out. He had just ten seconds to solve the puzzle and win the $94,900. Thankfully, he was able to solve it, as the puzzle was “out of the way.”
That’s when Seacrest biffed it.
Instead of immediately revealing that Hunger had been successful in his endeavor, however, Seacrest left him hanging for a couple of suspenseful seconds. White could clearly feel the tension of the moment. Finally, she stepped in by smiling and giving a small, stifled clap, signaling to Hunger that he had indeed won.
“Cody? That’s it!” Seacrest finally said.
“Oh my God,” a clearly relieved Hunger exclaimed. Seacrest then added, “You got it! Congratulations!”
Check out the uncomfortable moment for yourself:
Fans Respond
Fans were quick to call out Seacrest for his mistake.
“How about that pause,” one fan wrote on social media. “What a nightmare for the guy as he had to wait for Ryan to wake up and tell him he got the puzzle.”
“Lol I love Ryan but that’s his first blooper hahaha,” another fan added. A third person commented, “The pause was robotic. Didn’t even say what he had won with the solve.”
Others referenced White’s response to the situation.
“Vanna was clapping as soon as he said it! I came here just to see the reactions,” one fan commented. Another person suggested, “I think because Vanna reacted so quickly it caught my attention so there seemed to be a delay to hearing it was right. I don’t think it was for a reaction.”
Introducing, for the very first time, our hosts: Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White! Let's play some Wheel of Fortune 🎉 💪 pic.twitter.com/0nVtP6uIkO
— Wheel of Fortune (@WheelofFortune) September 10, 2024
Seacrest’s Difficult Start On Wheel Of Fortune
Unfortunately for Seacrest, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for him since he took over hosting Wheel of Fortune. Many fans haven’t taken kindly to the way he’s replaced Sajak.
“This is a very stressful time for Ryan,” one Wheel of Fortune insider recently said. “He’s in the seat now! Ryan’s trying to sugarcoat this and say it’s good news, that the only way is up since Pat’s ratings are down. But the bosses are worried it’s a free-fall that might not be automatically reversible just by hiring a new host.”
“The stakes are very high and Ryan’s under enormous pressure to deliver on the massive salary they’re paying him, not to mention the huge money they invested in giving Vanna her raise,” the source continued. “If the ratings don’t come back up, Ryan knows he’ll be the scapegoat, so it’s incredibly stressful.”
When White extended her contract last year through 2026, she was given her first raise in 18 years. Now, if Seacrest can’t boost his own ratings, she could be in line to take over hosting Wheel of Fortune herself!
“Vanna’s in the catbird seat,” the insider added. “She can just stand back and see how Ryan gets on. Even if that’s not her intention, she can certainly be the one to benefit from this in a big way because she’d be the next obvious replacement. Everyone knows there’s no one the fans would rather see take over from Ryan — she’d be a slam dunk!”
Vanna White says she's worn more than 8,000 gowns on "Wheel Of Fortune." She's splitting host duties with Ryan Seacrest as the famed game show enters its 42nd season. pic.twitter.com/Cyv6AVoIDa
— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) September 4, 2024
Seacrest’s latest flub certainly won’t help his situation on Wheel of Fortune. Only time will tell if he is able to stay on this game show longterm!
