Ryan Seacrest is just a month into his Wheel of Fortune hosting gig, and viewers have already noticed several on-air malfunctions.With Seacrest replacing the iconic Pat Sajak and a flashy new set in play, the transition hasn’t been letter-perfect, as evidenced by these technical hiccups.
Vanna White Separates From Her Body
On September 20’s episode, the contestants were filling in a puzzle as usual. The camera cut from Vanna White to the players and back to the board. That’s when the unusual happened: Vanna’s reflection seemingly detached from her body.
At the very bottom of the screen, Vanna’s reflection could be seen walking across the puzzle board while she stood perfectly still. There also appeared to now be two Vannas in the mirroring, one walking, another standing in place.
Adding to the confusion is that the category “LIVING THINGS” suddenly changed to “SAME LETTER.” See the two camera cuts to Vanna here:
“Did anyone see Vanna’s reflection desync from her body on today’s episode? I might be tripping but I think I saw her reflection walking when she was standing still??” wrote one fan on the WoF Reddit forum.
“Glitch in the matrix,” wrote another.
A third added, “How the heck did this happen? And even in editing how could Vanna’s reflection on the floor be different? Was anybody on here at that taping and know what happened?”
“So that’s even a reflection of a different puzzle…” said a fourth, pointing out how the letters of the puzzle are also different in the reflection.
“Surprised they didn’t catch this before air, what a sloppy edit lol,” said a fifth.
Player Buzzed Out With Time Left
On October 15’s episode, Jamel Vanderburg won his way to the coveted bonus round, but viewers were left puzzled if not downright upset as he lost with time still left on the clock.
With a mighty $40,998 in cash, a prize trip to Alaska, and the selection of the “Phrase” category, he began guessing the three-word puzzle: “‘ALWAYS’ ‘_N’ ‘_E_AN_’”. Near instantly, he declared “Always On Demand!” thinking he had solved it and looking to Seacrest.
However, the 10-second timer kept going and the buzzer rang as Seacrest told him the correct answer, which was “Always in Demand.” Vanderburg was in good spirits despite missing out on a new Ford. “You know what? I got $40,000, I’m going to Alaska. It’s all good.”
Viewers, however, pointed out that there seemed to be another tech issue. The incorrect buzzer rang, not at the end, but mid-way through. In addition, there was still one second on the clock when the letters began filling in and Seacrest intervened.
See the moment the contestant made his last guess compared to the moment the letters began filling in here:
“Why wasn’t he allowed to continue guessing? He still had a few seconds left. Somebody dropped the ball on that one” one X user wrote.
“What just happened on #WheelOfFortune? The buzzer went off, but the clock was still running. Jamel was cheated,” posted another.
“@WheelofFortune Jamal got screwed! They buzzed him with time still on the clock!” wrote a third.
“Ryan, tonight on @WheelofFortune they rang the buzzer and cut the Bonus Round music on Jamel with 40% of his time left. …Then started filling in the puzzle with 1 more tick left on the clock. He knew ‘Always on demand’. With that time left, he’d have solved ‘Always IN demand,’” argued a fourth.
Suspicious Number of Bankrupts
Ever since Seacrest began hosting, an unfortunate pattern has emerged. While it’s not a glitch per say, everyone seems to be going bankrupt, leading to a so-called “Seacrest curse”.
Late last week, a fan posted in the Wof Redit thread: “The amount of Bankrupts. There are so many now! Anyone else notice this? It’s almost like they are timed…”
“I’ve noticed SO many more,” another fan commented.
“This was what I came here to say!” wrote a third. “It’s almost like Ryan brought some bad mojo with him.”
This just happened on Wheel of Fortune…Unbelievable! pic.twitter.com/TJysPow03L— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) September 18, 2024
“My son and I counted 7 in a row one time recently. Annoying,” wrote a fourth.
Related‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Slam Ryan Seacrest Over ‘Tense’ Bonus Puzzle Miss
During September 18’s episode, Seacrest even quipped that he brought a “curse” with him. After the three contestants landed on bankrupts in three consecutive spins, he joked: “Who did something bad before they got here?” As the bankrupts and lose-a-turns continued, Seacrest collapsed on the wheel: “So, I’m new here. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
The 49-year-old then urged a contestant to “break this curse,” however the player landed on a lose-a-turn yet again. Seacrest pleaded: “Vanna? What is going on?”
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