Ryan Seacrest has been the new host of ‘Wheel of Fortune’ for only a hot second, and some folks are already wishing former host Pat Sajak would return.
What gives? Check out what happened on the game show earlier this week.
Contestant Alicia Sagle, a school nurse and fitness instructor from Red Wing, Minnesota, was awarded the money in the first round’s “On The Map” category after she clearly mispronounced the city of “Lubbock” Texas.
Sagle had control of the wheel when she opted to solve the puzzle, which read “Dallas, Houston, and Lubbock, Texas.”
However, she mispronounced the name of the final city, calling it “Loo-bock” rather than “Lubbock.”
Seacrest accepted the answer and awarded Sagle the $1,900.
Sagle won the episode with $22,020 cash and advanced to the Bonus Round.
However, some viewers couldn’t get past the “Lubbock” pronunciation controversy and took to social media to debate Seacrest’s decision to accept the answer.
“I would not have accepted that mangling of Lubbock, Wheel of Fortune,” wrote one X user.
I would not have acccepted that mangling of Lubbock, Wheel of Fortune.
— Rocco C. (@ElRocco337) November 7, 2024
“Yeah not acceptable,” another agreed.
“Stormed out of the room when Ryan Seacrest accepted “LOO-BACH” for Lubbock, Texas on Wheel of Fortune,” said another.
Another added, “Lue-Bock vs. Lubbock. Who pronounces it which way? Let yourselves be known.”
Even a fan on the Wheel of Fortune Reddit forum wrote, “I was surprised they gave her that puzzle on tonight’s episode. It the past, they wouldn’t give credit for incorrect pronunciation.”
The ruling comes after Monday’s episode, when Seacrest accepted a contestant’s answer of “Expresso martini” instead of the correct answer, “Espresso Martini.”