‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Call Out Ryan Seacrest For Interfering During Bonus Puzzle (VIDEO)
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Ryan Seacrest has spun into some backlash from Wheel of Fortune fans for stepping in too early and before a bonus round was technically over.
On Tuesday, October 14’s episode, Andy Schwartz, who earlier shouted out his “real and spectacular wife” (cheering from the sidelines) and his basement bar called “Mel’s Two Taps” made a late comeback to win the game. With $27,000 in cash earnings and the selection of the “Phrase” category, he joined Seacrest to tackle the three-word puzzle.
Choosing the additional letters of “CHMO,” it read as “‘_ _ SE_’ ‘ON’ ‘_R_NC_ _LE'” and the 10-second timer began. Schwartz instantly knew the last word, blazing through possible full answers: “Always on principle” “Gotta be principle” “Wasn’t on principle.”
However, the instant the buzzer sounded meaning the timer ran out, Seacrest interjected to say he missed it instead of waiting for the letters to speak for themselves. Schwartz also was in the midst of making one last guess (players are allowed to finish answers they started after the timer runs out) and had to stop.
“No you’re so close,” the host cut in. “‘Based… On… Principle'” Seacrest added. It was evident he had vocalized the answer prematurely as he had to draw out each word to sync up with the missing letters filling in.
Vanna White stood idly by looking disappointed for Schwartz while Seacrest spoke over the puzzle being unveiled, slightly botching the proceedings by going out of order. “That’s what it was,” he errantly concluded.
The game show shared the bonus puzzle clip on YouTube, where many fans commented how Seacrest spoke too soon and should have waited for the round to be decisively over before moderating.
“He’s still saying the puzzle when the contestant misses it,” one comment read.
“Just let the letters come up, Ryan,” wrote another.
Others pointed out predecessor Pat Sajak always allowed the full puzzle to show before saying a player had missed it.
Schwartz missed out on a brand new Ford, marking the first car prize of his hosting era. Additional fans lightly roasted Schwartz for missing what many labeled an “easy” solve.
“He didn’t make sense to me. He should have known it was ‘based…’ He probably wasn’t really reading it,” accused a third.
“This is Easy Solve…” a fourth bluntly put it.
Meanwhile, WoF viewers are warming up to Seacrest, who officially replaced Sajak as the nightly host after four decades last month. He’s kept ratings high with the strongest week in five years for the Season 42 debut. That said, the transition hasn’t been letter-perfect.
Earlier this month, fans called out the host for an on-air blunder they dubbed his “first blooper”, which also involved the all-important bonus round. In this instance, Seacrest’s reaction was actually delayed and he took multiple seconds to confirm a player had solved the puzzle despite White visibly applauding.
And, not unlike during Sajak’s reign, there have been some backlash-causing bonus puzzles; one that cost two gal pals $100,000 and another that fans flat-out called “unfair” (Cashew Nuts?).
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