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Ryan Seacrest has once again found himself under fire for an alleged misstep on Wheel of Fortune.
Fans called out the flub on social media after the Tuesday, December 17 episode saw contestant Phil McManus, a cancer survivor from Palmer, Massachusetts, lose the $13,250 he had accrued (thanks to his Wild Card wedge), when he guessed a consonant that wasn't represented in the puzzle.
As the express round began, McManus chose a "C," "N," and an "H," so that the puzzle read, "'THR_ _ _ _ N _' 'ATTRACT_ _ NS.'" McManus seemed unsure as he paused, and Seacrest could be heard telling him to "Hurry." The contestant then correctly added a "G," and lost it all with his final guess, a "W." Seacrest, 49, took some of the blame from fans, who thought the host should have reminded McManus that he could buy a vowel. That might have made it clearer that the answer was "THRILLING ATTRACTIONS."
"Tonight's express wedge," one fan titled a Wheel of Fortune Reddit post where they expressed their frustration at McManus guessing the wrong letter when he got stuck, rather than just buying a vowel. "Why not call a vowel?? ... would have probably helped him out," they wrote.
"I think Pat would have mentioned to him that he can buy a vowel when he was fumbling," one fan commented, which led another to respond, "I've noticed this a lot, Ryan is a great personality as host but fails at game rule reminders. I'm sure this will come with time as he gets more comfortable with the role."
Another Reddit user wrote, "Yes! I came here to say this! Why didn't Ryan tell him 'Call a letter or buy a vowel!?!' Pat would have. First time I've been frustrated with Ryan. I felt so sorry for the guy."
Wheel of Fortune fans shared similar sentiments on X (formerly Twitter), with one person posting, "Should @RyanSeacrest have reminded the guy on express that he can buy vowels? #wheeloffortune."
Another X user replied, "Yes! I just tweeted Ryan. The contestant has not won a puzzle and was battling cancer and Ryan can't give him a damn clue."
Seacrest,who took over for Pat Sajak after he retired in June after 41 years hosting the show, faced similar criticism in September when a fan lost her million dollars wedge. At the time, fans believed the American Idol host failed to adequately explain that taking the risk in the hopes of winning an extra $10K could also cost her the million dollars wedge — which it did.
It happened again in November when contestant Oleh Voloshyn could have won the game with the "Final Spin" puzzle, because each letter was worth $6,000. However, Voloshyn opted to solve the puzzle — rather than guessing an additional letter first, which would have brought his score to $18,000 — leaving him with a score of $14,000, and in second place to his opponent's $14,176 total.
"If I'm Oleh, I'm upset at myself for not realizing the situation... I'm also angry at Ryan for not doing something that Pat always made a point to do in this exact situation," a fan wrote on Reddit at the time. "It's not the host's job to point those types of things out but Pat [Sajak] always tried so now we expect it."
However, others left Seacrest out of it, placing the blame on the contestant for not calling an "I," and suggesting he was probably just nervous.
"I was screaming at the TV! Vowel, dude! Choose a vowel!" one Reddit user commented, while another added, "If the last two letters are "ng" why not call an I ?!" A third shared their sympathy, posting, "I felt bad for him, he seemed super anxious."
The mishap comes just as Seacrest seemed to be opening up more, entertaining contestants with his breakdancing skills in one episode, and making a surprising joke about his love life in another.
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