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Did the ‘Wheel of Fortune’ set accidentally resemble a tragic event? Some fans think so

It was obviously a mistake without any malicious intent, and no one was slammed.
PUBLISHED NOV 20, 2025
"Wheel of Fortune" hosts Vanna White and Ryan Seacrest (Cover image source: Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for CBS Media Ventures / Sony Pictures Television)
"Wheel of Fortune" hosts Vanna White and Ryan Seacrest (Cover image source: Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for CBS Media Ventures / Sony Pictures Television)

"Wheel of Fortune" has been a show that has entertained viewers for many years now without any controversy. Sometimes, however, the showrunners could get a few things wrong. That’s what happened in a recent episode of the show, in which fans saw something resembling one of the most tragic incidents in American history. The set was decked up to look like the inside of a plane, but at a certain point, it reminded fans of 9/11.

Screenshot showing the contestant overreacting (Image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)
Representative image of contestants on the show. (Image source: YouTube/Wheel of Fortune)

September 11, 2001, was a dark day not just in American history, but in the history of the world. It’s not in good taste to represent any of that in a game show unless a tribute is being paid to those who lost their lives. But the mistake was seen during the toss-up rounds, according to a TV Insider report. During these rounds, a television viewer sees the contestants in tiny boxes under the board.

Screenshots showing the incident unfolding on the show (Cover image source: Facebook | The Wheel Of Fortune | New York Post)
Representative image of how the toss-up round looks on TV (Image source: Facebook | The Wheel Of Fortune | New York Post)

If it is a themed event, the background of these boxes will be related to that theme. On this occasion, the theme was called ‘Now Boarding’, and the showrunners made the set resemble air travel. The boxes in which the contestants were on TV were supposed to resemble the windows of an airplane, with a blue sky and clouds visible outside. Unfortunately, that’s not the only thing that fans saw.

Image Caption: Wheel of Fortune / YouTube
Image Caption: Wheel of Fortune / YouTube

The background also had a building-like structure, and the clouds seemed like smoke coming out of it. It had an eerily similar appearance to the smoking towers on that fateful day in 2001. Obviously, this made a lot of people uncomfortable. However, it was clear that this was a mistake and in no way intentional. Fans still had a discussion about the matter on Reddit, which the showrunners might even take an interest in.

Screenshot showing the background in question. (Image credit
Screenshot showing the background in question. (Image source: Reddit | u/-unfinishedsentenc_)

“Am I trippin or did the background look like the morning of 9/11/2001??” one fan asked in r/WheelOfFortune. Several people agreed that it was exactly what they thought as well, upon first glance. “I immediately thought it looked like the towers encased in smoke on 9/11. Really freaked me out ~ happy to see I wasn't the only person thinking this,” one user commented. “Probably because 9/11 happened at such a pivotal point in my childhood & those images are burned into my mind. Oof,” added another.

“Yeeeaah... It was supposed to be a cute background with airplane windows & clouds, but they really shouldn't have put the clouds in front of the windows, or made the windows 10x their normal size, or spaced the window panels with gaps in between them... 😬 Definitely looks bad unless fully zoomed out,” one more viewer commented.

More on Market Realist:

'Wheel of Fortune' is making a big change to bonus round — and involves a huge $500,000 prize

'Wheel of Fortune' contestant stuns Ryan Seacrest by instantly solving puzzle to win a Toyota

'Wheel of Fortune' player gets Ryan Seacrest's watch as gift after losing out on Toyota car

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