‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Blame Ryan Seacrest for Contestant’s ‘Party’ Foul

A Wheel of Fortune contestant lost the game because he said the wrong thing on a crossword puzzle. Fans of the game show blamed host Ryan Seacrest because he didn’t remind the contestants of the rules beforehand.

Todd Meyer, from Las Vegas, Nevada, played against Sheree Corder, from Tampa, Florida, and Latricia Randolph, from Franklin, Tennessee, on Monday, March 31.

Corder, who loves traveling and adventure, solved the first tossup — “Expect the unexpected” — and the second — “Model airplane kit” — adding $3,000 to her bank in the beginning. She also went on to solve the next puzzle, gaining a Wild Card, earning a total of $6,600.

But the next puzzle was what made fans angry. It was a rare crossword, where all of the words in the puzzle related to the category and crossed over with one letter, like a crossword would. The category was “Party.” The contestants had to guess four words in the puzzle. Randolph started off the puzzle guessing numerous letters until “G” wasn’t in the puzzle. The turn then moved to Meyer. He guessed all of the letters and even solved the puzzle, saying “Party Time,” Party Animal,” “Party Decorations,” and “Party Bus.” Seacrest told him that it was incorrect.

Meyer put his head down and rested his arms on his podiums, looking disappointed. Corder then solved “Time, Animal, Decorations, and Bus,” and won the round. Seacrest explained after the fact that for the crossword, the contestants need to say exactly what is on the board. “It’s a shame she stole it from you,” Seacrest told Meyer.

Reddit users were angry at Seacrest for not explaining the rules beforehand because it cost Meyer the game. “Ryan Not Reminding the Contestants About Crossword Solves. Makes me mad every time! Sometimes, he reminds contestants how to solve these puzzles properly, and sometimes, he doesn’t. Doesn’t seem fair. Oh, and this contestant today looked PISSED!” the original poster said.

“Felt bad for the guy. Like…come on. He knew this. He was filling in the blank,” said another.

“That guy got screwed,” wrote one fan.

“Was infuriating. I hate these puzzles. They should allow the answer either way; it sounds so stupid the way they make them do it,” commented a Reddit user.

“Pat ALWAYS made sure to list the rules for these more meta puzzles!” a fan said, referring to retired host Pat Sajak.

However, some fans pointed out that Meyer didn’t get the puzzle because he added “and” before “party bus,” not because he said “party” before each one.

Meyer shook it off and went on to solve most of the next puzzle. However, he called an “I,” which wasn’t in the puzzle. Randolph went on to solve the puzzle — “A Tremendous Escape” — and won a trip to Ireland. She took the lead with $12,190.

Meyer redeemed himself in the end when he won $10,000 by solving all three Triple Toss-Ups. However, Corder solved the final puzzle — “Dancing in the Dark” earning her a spot in the Bonus Round, giving her a total of $16,600. Randolph left with $12,190. Meyer came in last with $10,000.

During the Bonus Round, Corder picked “Phrase” for the category. After Wheel gave her “R, S,T, L, N, and E,” she chose “C, D, M, I, and P,” due to the Wild Card.

Corder’s puzzle then looked like, “_ _ _ _ P  IT _P.” The contestants guessed many words for the first one, knowing the last two were “(blank) it up.” The puzzle was “Whoop It Up.” She lost out on an additional $40,000.

Fans said it was a hard solve, with many wondering who uses that phrase.