Sometimes crazy, awkward, or even “strange” moments happen on game shows, including The Price Is Right.
One contestant got plenty of attention from a recent episode of the game show due to what some felt was peculiar or even “disrespectful” bidding behavior.
Nicholas, who wore a dark short-sleeved shirt featuring vibrant pink flamingos, got called down to contestant’s row during the May 7 episode.
Upon his arrival, The Price Is Right announcer George Gray and model Rachel Reynolds presented contestants with a spin air bike and vertical knee raise exercise station to bid on.
The contestant who gets the closest bid to the price without going over gets to join host Drew Carey on stage to play pricing games and potentially win prizes.
It’s not uncommon for contestants to bid $1 or a dollar more than the highest bid in an attempt to get on stage. Sometimes, a contestant bids the exact price and wins money, like one contestant who Drew said had “an out-of-body experience.”
During one segment of the May 7 episode, Nicholas started bidding off with a shocking amount of “$1 million,” causing Drew to ask, “Seriously?”
Viewers slammed contestant for his Price Is Right bid
After the man confirmed his bid, saying it “looked like nice equipment,” Drew said they couldn’t display the large number on his screen but knew his bid was $1 million.
They moved on to other contestants, who gave more realistic bids of $2,400 or less. Ultimately, Nicholas’ bid didn’t get him on stage, as a fellow contestant’s bid of $1,500 won.
Viewers who saw the moment happen on the televised episode brought attention to it on a Reddit forum post about the bid. Commenters reacted to the moment, and some weren’t happy about it.
One individual suggested that someone might use a strategy of intentionally overbidding. They suggested it might help a contestant avoid a prize or get a particular spot for spinning the Wheel later on. However, the Reddit commenter called out the idea.
“I just see it as disrespectful to everyone there, those in the audience who didn’t get picked an all the people on the contestant row they decided to apparently help,” a commenter wrote, adding, “you’re only wasting your own time and chances of getting the bid.”
“Very strange,” another commenter said about the contestant’s bid.
“Feel bad for everyone in the audience whose dream was to come on down,” a commenter wrote.
Another individual commented, “Drugs are bad mmmkay.”
“Wish they could send somebody like that back to the audience,” another commenter wrote.
There were also comments on Twitter, with one commenter saying they hoped “that dude loses big time!!”
“People try really hard to get up there, and he throws away his guess,” the individual tweeted.
Another individual tweeted that it was “fulfilling to watch million dollar bid guy’s joke bomb horribly” on the show.
Another suggested, “This bozo bid $1 million on price is right for the memes.”
Drew called out the contestant’s $1M bid later
While some thought the contestant’s bidding was “disrespectful” or “strange,” he later explained why he did that.
During his next bid at contestant’s row, he went with a much more reasonable $1,100 for a collection of baseball gear, including bats, helmets, and more. The other contestants didn’t bid close enough to the $1,200, so Nicholas joined Drew on stage.
“Congratulations, you got your million-dollar bid in, and you got to come up on stage,” Drew said, laughing after shaking his hand.
“I lost a bet. That’s why I had to do it,” he told Drew, who told him, “No problem.”
Drew repeated what Nicholas said about losing a bet to the audience.
“You gotta pay off your bets,” Drew added before the show’s announcer revealed the prizes he could win in a pricing game.
After the funny exchange, Nicholas played Make Your Move to try to win a steam iron, a travel gear package, and a trip to Philadelphia to see an MLB game featuring the Phillies.
Unfortunately, his luck ended there as he failed to win those prizes, have successful Wheel spins, or participate in the Showcase Showdown.
Nonetheless, his bid over a lost bet certainly had viewers talking about his “strange” moments on the show, and it may have earned him some lasting fame with viral memes.