A contestant on Ryan Seacrest’s era of Wheel of Fortune lost a bonus round in a particularly unfortunate — and according to some fans questionable — fashion.
On Tuesday, October 15’s episode, Jamel Vanderburg from West Hempstead, New York, who earlier shared he’s “obsessed” with meteorology, stormed his way to victory. With a mighty $40,998 in cash, a prize trip to Alaska, and the selection of the “Phrase” category, he joined Seacrest to tackle the three-word puzzle.
Choosing a savvy “WYPA” as his additional letters, it read as “‘ALWAYS’ ‘_N’ ‘_E_AN_’” and the 10-second timer began. Near-instantly, Vanderburg talked his way to two of the three words: “Always On…Always On Demand!” he shouted.
With five seconds to go, Vanderburg turned to Vanna White for confirmation he was correct, so steadfast in his conviction that he stopped guessing. However, it didn’t come. The incorrect buzzer sounded and the timer ran down as his celebratory expression turned to disbelief.
“No, no,” Seacrest said as the letters began filling in. The full puzzle was revealed to be “Always In Demand.”
Vanderburg yelled, “Oh!” at the results, buckling over in shock. “Always In Demand,” Seacrest confirmed.
Seacrest shared that Vanderburg missed out on a brand-new Ford. He threw up his hands in disappointment, recovered, and was a good sport. “You know what? I got $40,000 I’m going to Alaska. It’s all good,” he concluded, hugging it out with Seacrest.
Fans took to social media accusing Seacrest of appearing to buzz the contestant before the timer was up. There was still one second on the clock when the letters began filling in, so technically, he could have still saved face (quite literally) last second.
“Oooh Wheel Of Fortune was a bit tense tonight during the bonus round,” one fan wrote.
“@WheelofFortune Jamal got screwed! They buzzed him with time still on the clock!” blasted another.
“What just happened on #WheelOfFortune ? The buzzer went off, but the clock was still running. Jamel was cheated,” accused 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.
The game show shared the clip on YouTube, where others were simply left in shock much like he was over how close he was (given he was off by a mere one letter and flat-out stopped guessing with time left).
“Omggggg how did he miss that he had time to fix it too always IN demand,” one YouTuber wrote.
“He was so close but I love his positivity in spite of not winning. “Always on Demand!” That was a good guess!” wrote another.
“Wow, that was just…wow! I bet a whole lot of people guessed ALWAYS ON DEMAND as well,” wrote a third.
“Oh man! That REALLY hurts! I thought he had it! That was crushing!” wrote one more. “Yikes, one letter away!”
Related‘Wheel of Fortune’: Ryan Seacrest Called Out For Interfering During Bonus Puzzle
Meanwhile, WoF viewers are getting used 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, he’s had his stumbles according to fans.
Earlier this month, fans called out the host for an on-air blunder they dubbed his “first blooper”, which also involved the coveted bonus round. In this instance, Seacrest’s reaction was delayed and he took multiple seconds to confirm a player had solved the puzzle despite White visibly applauding. In another instance, similar to this one, some fans felt he stepped in too early to rule.
And, not unlike during Sajak’s reign, there have been some questionable bonus puzzles; one that cost two gal pals $100,000 and another that fans flat-out called “unfair” (Cashew Nuts?).
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