'Wheel of Fortune' fans are upset after contestant loses $100,000 over an 'impossible' puzzle
Contestants who are on a roll during other games on “Wheel of Fortune” face a bigger challenge in the Bonus Round, which also offers a bigger reward. Although it's understandable that the difficulty level has to be significantly higher, sometimes, the fans feel that the puzzles are almost impossible to solve. That’s exactly what happened in a recent episode of the show after a contestant failed to win $100,000 after not being able to solve a seemingly impossible puzzle. This triggered outrage among fans who found this move by the show unfair.
The contestant was a woman named Kristyn Hobbs, and she had already won $18,000 and a trip to Peru, according to a TV Insider report. In the Bonus Round, she had chosen the ‘What Are You Doing?’ category. The contestant was given the letters R, S, T, L, N, and E. She now had to pick one vowel and three consonants, and she chose the letters G, C, H, and I. After these letters were revealed, the puzzle read, “R_ _ _ _GING IN THE _ _C_ _ _R_.” This was a tough task, especially with the last word. Kristyn’s 10 seconds started counting down, but she never even got close to solving the puzzle. Host Ryan Seacrest then revealed the correct answer was, “Rummaging in the backyard.” The most painful part of it all was that she would have won $100,000 had she gotten it right.
Fans were livid at how tough the puzzle was, and they made their feelings known in the comments section of the clip on YouTube. “I got rummaging, but I couldn't get 'backyard' obviously because nobody rummages through their backyard,” one user commented. “That’s gotta be one of the toughest bonus puzzles I’ve ever seen,” quipped another.
“The writers who concocted that ridiculous puzzle are responsible for the loss, not Kristyn. Be honest: how many times in your life have you said the phrase, “I’m rummaging around in the backyard”—? You might say, “I’m rummaging around in the… closet…garage…junk drawer…”etc., but not the backyard. Unless your backyard is a junk yard! This was impossible in 10 seconds for the contestant,” one viewer wrote.
This is, however, not the first time a contestant has missed out on $100,000. It happened in an earlier episode of the show this year as well, with a contestant named Jim Venckus. The answer to his Bonus Round puzzle was “Popping the cork,” but he was not able to get it right. However, the host committed the cardinal sin of laughing at the contestant for losing, and fans on Reddit lost their calm, as per another TV Insider report.
“Why do Ryan think it’s funny when someone loses $100,000?” the post in r/WheelOfFortune read. “He’s probably laughing because he makes a quarter mil per episode, and the contestant can’t even pick up a hundred gs,” one user commented. “Yes, I got that too…. strange laughter over such a big laugh.. not funny,” added another. “To me, $100,000 is anything but funny!” one more exclaimed.
