A major Wheel of Fortune gaffe has been making the rounds on social media after it took Tuesday’s trio of contestants a full two minutes to get the phrase “another feather in your cap” on what should have been an easy layup, all things considered.
It’s been some time since we’ve seen a huge Wheel of Fortune misstep that has everyone at home screaming the right answer. While frustrating, these moments are something to laugh at rather than get actually mad at. Unfortunately, that’s not often the case with social media, with vocal folks online taking things a bit too far with this latest Wheel of Fortune blunder.
Thankfully, host of the show Pat Sajak stepped forward to defend the three contestants in this heartwarming Twitter thread.
It always pains me when nice people come on our show to play a game and win some money and maybe fulfill a lifelong dream, and are then subject to online ridicule when they make a mistake or something goes awry.
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
Now imagine you’re on national TV, and you’re suddenly thrown a curve and you begin getting worried about looking stupid, and if the feather isn’t in your hat, where the heck can it be? You start flailing away looking for alternatives rather than synonyms for “hat.”
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
But mocking them online and calling them names? These are good people in a bad situation under a kind of stress that you can’t begin to appreciate from the comfort of your couch.
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
I have fun with players and I tease them occasionally, but when things go wrong, I feel for them, and I try to salve the wounds on camera and off. So, yeah, it was an oddly entertaining puzzle and it’s okay to laugh at the situation. But have a little heart.
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
After all, you may be there one day. And no one wants to be trending on Twitter.
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
We are all human and we all make mistakes. After all, at the end of the day these contestants made a slightly embarrassing yet ultimately harmless mistake on national TV, nothing more. Good on Sajak for going to bat for them after that!