'Wheel of Fortune' fans are unhappy with 'dumb' timing rule that cost the contestant an Audi Q3

Special episodes on occasions such as Christmas also feature bigger prizes on "Wheel of Fortune," but that means that losing out on them feels worse as well. Charlene Rubush's Christmas celebrations were dampened when she lost an Audi Q3 despite solving a puzzle.

After spinning the wheel in the bonus round, Rubush landed with the 'What Are You Doing' category. The board displayed the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E, and the elated guest then bought the letters G, D, H, and I, which gave away a major portion of the phrase since the board featured "_ H_ _SING THE RIGHT _ _ RD." It was mere child's play to guess the current answer, but Rubush said "choosing the right card," keeping the Christmas theme in mind. However, it was wrong. 

She then put her thinking cap on and blurted, "choosing the right..." There was a pause for several seconds before she answered, "Word!" However, the buzzer had gone off by then, and Rubush missed the chance to take home a brand new ride, as per TVLine. “This one’s tough because you said all the right words, including the word ‘word,’ but as you know, it’s got to be more or less continuous,” host Pat Sajak clarified the game show's decision while explaining the rule. “We’ll allow for a little pause, but not four or five seconds. I’m sorry. You did a good job in getting it, but we can’t give you the prize, and it was the Audi.” Meanwhile, fans called out the injustice and pointed out that the player had, in fact, given the right answer. 

2015 winner Alex Jacob too couldn't hide his disappointment and tweeted, “Come on @WheelofFortune, the woman literally chose the right word. Give her the car.” He later added, “I understand rules are rules, but this seems like a particularly dumb rule. C’mon, Wheel, it’s Christmas.” On the other hand, another winner named Rob agreed with Sajak and educated the viewers about the rules. "Here is a comparison of other Wheel of Fortune Bonus Rounds with pauses. Although they were stricter about it back in 2013, it seems they now draw the line at 3 or 4 seconds. A 2.7s pause was okay, but a 4.9- 5.0s pause is not," he tweeted on X. 

However, a surprising turn of events followed after the show received major backlash for denying Rubush her prize. Netizens noted that former winner Jacob had tweeted in their favor, and many others also expressed rage over the unfair treatment. Some fans even suggested that the player start a GoFundMe page to fight for what "she deserved", Entertainment Tonight reported. "Some of us who have been watching you for decades are disgusted," a few others were quoted as saying.

And then they pulled off a Christmas miracle, since the criticism was monitored by Audi, and the luxury car brand decided to gift Rubush her prize. "You're a winner in our eyes, Charlene, now let's get you a prize, time to give her the Q3," it said while quoting Jacob's reaction on X. Audi later showcased a picture of Rubush next to her new ride with the keys.