Four-decade “Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak came to the aid of three contestants who went viral for struggling with a common phrase on Tuesday’s episode.
In the painful two-minute clip, it takes Laura Machado, Christopher Coleman and Thomas Lipscomb eight turns and 10 tries to fill in five letters missing from “Another feather in your cap.”
Naturally, the internet rejoiced in the mishap, with some even calling it “the most brutal minute of ‘Wheel of Fortune’” they’d ever seen.
But the discourse evidently crossed a line, because Sajak published a long Twitter thread asking viewers to have a little compassion.
“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,” he began.
“Sitting at home, it seems incredible that they couldn’t solve it, but I knew in real time what was happening,” he said of the “feather in your cap” blunder.
At first, it seemed as though Machado had it in the bag after guessing “Another feather in your hat” – which, Sajak pointed out, is “how a lot of people say it.”
He walked readers through the blunder from the contestants’ point of view, asking them to imagine what it feels like to walk in their shoes.
“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,’” he said. “And, of course, when it’s solved, you want to crawl in a hole.”
Sajak noted that many online commentators have applauded him for not ridiculing players when they mess up, which seems ironic in light of the response to Tuesday’s viral moment.
“Good-natured laughter is one thing. Heck, they laughed at themselves,” he stated. “But, hey, cut them some slack. Unless you’re there, you have no idea how different it is in the studio.”
In conclusion, it’s all fun and games until you’re in the same situation.
“After all, you may be there one day,” he finished. “And no one wants to be trending on Twitter.”
Read the entire thread below:
