ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / ECONOMY & WORK

'Price is Right’ contestant who calls herself the ‘Original Karen’ gets blamed for her 'ugly' strategy

The strategy is considered unpleasant by a lot of fans since it involves cutting down another player's chances instead of making a better bid.
PUBLISHED FEB 2, 2025
Screenshots showing Drew Carey and the contestants (Cover image source: TikTok/The Price Is Right)
Screenshots showing Drew Carey and the contestants (Cover image source: TikTok/The Price Is Right)

"The Price is Right" may be a fun game show but things do get competitive with big prizes including cash and cars at stake, pushing contestants to come up with new strategies, while host Drew Carey also suggests a few hacks. One of the most infamous strategies is the '$1' bid strategy which players use to one-up their competitors. Due to its petty nature, it's not much appreciated and recently a player named Karen was blasted on social media for employing it.

Screenshot showing Drew Carey on The Price Is Right (Image source: YouTube/The Price Is Right)
Screenshot showing Drew Carey on The Price Is Right (Image source: YouTube/The Price Is Right)

For those who don't know, for the first round of the game show, players are called down from the audience to the Contestant’s Row where they compete to win a chance to join host Drew Carey on stage and play the games. Once they are lined up, the show's announcer George Gray, and the models, present different prizes on stage. One by one the contestants make a bid for what they think the prize or prize package is worth. Whoever makes the closest bid, wins and joins Carey on stage.

Screenshot showing the Contestant's Row (Image source: YouTube/P Linko)
Screenshot showing the Contestant's Row (Image source: YouTube/P Linko)

Here, many contestants use the $1 bid strategy where they make a bid that is $1 more or less than the other player's bid, to deny the competitor a win and steal their spot. In the episode, players, Nader, Dena, Jarren, and Karen were called down to the Contestant's Row to make their bids. The announcer then revealed the items which were three designer watches made of stainless steel and plated with gold. The prize package also included a leather watch case.

One by one the players made their bids,  “1400,” “1100,” and “1700," before the turn went to Karen, who was wearing a t-shirt with the "The Price Is Right" logo and the text, "The Original Karen" in the show's font. 

Screenshot showing Jarren and Karen on the show (Image source: TikTok/The Price Is Right)
Screenshot showing Jarren and Karen on the show (Image source: TikTok/The Price Is Right)

“1701!” Karen yelled, making her bid which was just a dollar more than Jarren’s bid. This meant, that if the price of the package was above $1700, Karen would win by just a dollar over Jarren. “Wow, you really are the original Karen,” Carey quipped, pointing at the player's strategy. 

Screenshots showing Drew Carey making the joke (Image source: TikTok/The Price Is Right)
Screenshots showing Drew Carey making the joke (Image source: TikTok/The Price Is Right)

The clip was shared on the show's social media with the overlay text, “Self-proclaimed Karen pulls a Karen move 😂." Viewers in the comments blasted the player for using the petty strategy. "I despise the “one uppers” 👎🏿👎🏿👎🏿😂" @ty.brighten commented on Instagram.  "I've always disliked the one uppers. It's so rude," user @nic.tails added. 

Screenshot of a comment criticizing the move (Image source: Instagram/@tommygunz722)
Screenshot of a comment criticizing the move (Image source: Instagram/@tommygunz722)

"She REALLY ticked me off! That was really ugly what she did," remarked another user @studioacrochetandmore. 


 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by The Price Is Right (@therealpriceisright)


 

Meanwhile, some viewers defended Karen claiming that the player's strategy was legitimate and smart. "Yass Karen!! 👏🏾👏🏾I won my showcase showdown on 4/26/2011 by getting off contestant row with a “one up” price! 🗣️”751 baby!!!” 😂," @texas.girl.for.life mentioned. "They've been doing this since the conception of the show! Stop trying to cause drama where there isn't any!" @a.m.y.marie added.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
The veteran host is usually a sympathetic individual but this one was a hilariously freakish moment.
9 hours ago
Costco might be one of the biggest supermarket chains but that's not going to save it from criticism.
10 hours ago
The model and the host have both been on the show for several years and are close friends.
11 hours ago
Everyone makes mistakes but this one was just way too bizarre to be left out of the show.
14 hours ago
Ryan Seacrest has hosted the show to the best of his abilities but he can't please everyone.
15 hours ago
Not every game show host ends their respective program with those three words, which is unique.
1 day ago
The decision drew widespread criticism on social media and it is understandable why that is the case
1 day ago
The day could not have gone any better for the contestant who hit the jackpot on the show.
1 day ago
The shopper then went on mission to get her stuff back in 'John Wick' style.
2 days ago
There have been several incidents of Costco products not living up to quality standards.
2 days ago
There have been several wild moments on the show but this was something else.
3 days ago
Finding a living organism in your food is the stuff of nightmares and Costco turned it into a re
3 days ago
The puzzle pretty much solved itself after the bold choice made by the contestant.
3 days ago
Pat Sajak has seen many great solves but few will ever match up to how amazing this one was.
4 days ago
Drew Carey is used to bizarre celebrations, but getting a cold shoulder wasn't something he was prepared for.
4 days ago
Costco products have been called out over quality standards multiple times in the past year.
4 days ago
There have been awkward moments on the show in the past but few can top this one.
5 days ago
Some fans believe that rising prices have forced the showrunners to settle for local destinations.
5 days ago
It's not easy to leave the host stunned into silence, but some contestants come up with unbelievable answers.
5 days ago
This was a big let down and it was evident from the host's reaction after the Bonus Round puzzle.
5 days ago