Ryan Seacrest is in hot water with Wheel of Fortune fans.
During the December 18 episode of Wheel of Fortune, a contestant named Noel Dallacco seemingly immediately provided the correct answer, but Ryan held up her win.
Noel earned herself a spot in the bonus round on Wednesday night and joined Ryan on stage during the Disney Secret Santa Holiday Giveaway episode.
She spun the wheel, landing on the “A” card, before walking over to the puzzle board where Vanna White was waiting to unveil her clues.
Noel’s puzzle category of choice was “People,” and she was given the customary “R, S, T, L, N, and E” letters to give her a headstart.
When it was time to choose three more consonants and one more vowel, Noel opted for “G, L, M, and I.”
After Vanna tapped the letters on the board, Noel was left with a puzzle reading, “G R E _ T / _ I _ S.”
Once Noel’s 10-second timer began counting down, she started sounding out possible puzzle solutions.
Ryan Seacrest didn’t award Noel the win right away
Noel wasted no time guessing, with her first attempt sounding like “Greet Kids.”
Although Vanna nodded, seemingly indicating that Noel got the solution correct, Wheel of Fortune host Ryan was silent and let her continue guessing.
After just a few more seconds, Noel guessed, “Great Kids,” and Ryan quickly intervened, telling her, “Yes. That’s it. You got it!”
After watching the episode, one confused Wheel of Fortune viewer headed to Reddit after hearing what they believed was Noel’s correct answer the first time around.
“Did anyone else catch she said the correct answer, but Ryan didn’t call it out as being correct at first?” they asked.
Their post continued, “She had to say it a second time before it was acknowledged. I even back tracked my TV to make sure I heard it right the first time around.”
Wheel of Fortune viewers think Ryan got it wrong
Other Wheel watchers offered their takes on Noel’s answer, with many in agreement that Ryan misheard her the first time.
“Yes!” commented u/Emmejayones. “Even Vanna nodded and said yes after the first time she said it,” they pointed out.
Another Wheel of Fortune fan admitted they were wondering what was happening after Noel uttered the correct phrase on her first try.
One commenter noticed Vanna nodding, but when Ryan didn’t say anything, they “started thinking [Noel] messed up.”
u/MarshmallowRhubarb wondered whether Ryan had to get an okay from the judges before he could say Noel’s guess was correct.
“Maybe he was waiting for them to give the nod?” they pondered.
One Redditor wasn’t willing to give Ryan the benefit of the doubt, calling him out for an “inexcusable” error.
“I don’t see him as taking the job seriously enough to continue,” they added.
Despite how it went down, Noel was a big winner, taking home $50,000 in the bonus round.
Noel’s total winnings for the evening totaled $63,100, which gives her a nice cushion heading into the holidays.