A trio of Wheel of Fortune contestants embarrassed themselves on live television when they celebrated prematurely.
Following a recent episode of Wheel of Fortune in which a contestant gave host Pat Sajak a tasteless NSFW answer on live TV, viewers were treated to another controversial moment.
Pat Sajak had to intervene during a recent episode of Wheel of Fortune when a contestant began celebrating what they believed to be a correct puzzle solution.
During Monday night’s show, three contestants Rufus Cumberlander, Luidgi Altidor, and Cynthia King kicked off their game with a toss-up puzzle.
The category was “Phrase,” and as more and more letters began to appear on the board, Rufus was confident that he had the correct answer to the puzzle, which read, “_ _ N ‘_ / L _ O K / A W _ _ .”
Rufus rang his buzzer, and when Pat called on him to give his answer, Rufus exclaimed, “Don’t Look Away!”
Pat Sajak is furious when Wheel of Fortune contestants and viewers applaud an incorrect answer
Cynthia immediately applauded Rufus while his other competitor, Luidgi, gave him a fist bump to congratulate him on his efforts.
However, Pat repeatedly shouted out, “No, no, no, no, no!” as Rufus, Cynthia, and Luidgi celebrated erroneously.
Even veteran tile-turner Vanna White began to clap, and audience members began to cheer, but eventually, Wheel of Fortune producers started unveiling the correct puzzle answer, and Rufus’ answer turned out to be wrong.
“No, it’s not correct!” Pat continued to shout, clearly frustrated that no one else was picking up on Rufus’ mistake.
After several seconds, producers finally caught on, the buzzer sounded, and the correct solution, “Can’t Look Away,” appeared on the board, indicating that Rufus’ answer was incorrect.
When Rufus and his competitors also realized he was wrong, they were shocked.
“Everybody’s congratulating everybody,” Pat told the audience and viewers at home, adding, “And we get to keep the money!”
Despite his incorrect answer, Pat then told Cynthia and Luidgi that it was “nice of them” to congratulate their opponent, Rufus.
Wheel watchers react to everyone congratulating Rufus’ incorrect puzzle answer
The viral clip has made its rounds on social media, and Wheel watchers reacted to the one-of-a-kind Wheel of Fortune moment.
On X (formerly Twitter), @ana10g joked, “Obviously, you CAN’T LOOK AWAY!”
Another Wheel of Fortune fan said of the overhasty celebration, “Don’t celebrate before you get to the endzone.”
In response to Pat Sajak “freaking out” during the episode, @ptsavy5 added, “He didn’t freak out…those ppl weren’t paying attention. Pretty funny though.”
Rufus’ opponent, Cynthia, walked away Monday night’s big winner
Because of Rufus’ incorrect phrase, his opponent, Cynthia, was awarded points for the game segment since she had won the previous two puzzles.
Cynthia — a resident of Warren, Michigan, and a two-time Wheel of Fortune contestant — ended Monday night’s big winner, taking home $19,390.
After the game, Cynthia spoke with Wheel of Fortune Social Correspondent Maggie Sajak and joked that she’s basically a celebrity because of her multiple appearances and big wins.
“You don’t want my signature; you want my autograph,” Cynthia joked.