Wheel of Fortune fans are calling out the long-running game show for giving one contestant a clue that many deemed way too difficult, resulting in her losing a large lump sum of cash.
During Tuesday night’s (April 25) episode, Angela — a San Bernadino, CA native who owns “over 100 rubber ducks” — made it to the bonus round, where she chose “What Are You Doing” as her topic.
When the puzzle came up, she chose “M, H, D,” and “O” as her letters, leaving her to solve, “_O_N_N_ THE _R__.”
“Oh,” she quickly said, while host Pat Sajak joked, “I’m glad I’m here and not there. Well, talk it out.”
While Angela guessed, “Joining The Crew,” the correct answer was, “Joining The Fray” — a statement many Twitter users claim they’ve “never heard of.” Meanwhile, Sajak revealed that the incorrect answer caused her to lose out on a whopping $45,000.
Although Angela didn’t win the pot of gold, she was still able to take home the $20,000 she had won before the bonus round. Despite her winnings, fans of the show still called out the unfair puzzle she was unable to solve.
“#Angela on @WheelofFortune got a piece of CRAP bonus round,” one viewer wrote. “I have NEVER heard of ‘joining the fray’ before in my ENTIRE life. Can we get some kind of #Sponsor to give this woman a #prize ??????? What the hell kind of puzzle was that??? Come on now. #ridiculous!! Let’s get this.”
Another said, “Whatever snooty ny times crossword puzzle doing harvard grad that yall got to come up with JOINING THE FRAY needs to take his expectations down a peg.”
“@WheelofFortune Angela you had one hell of a night,” a third person posted. “Joining the fray who the hell ever comes up with something like that as that’s freaking ridiculous.”
They added, “BOOOOOOO WOF for that,” while someone else asked, “Girl who came up with Joining the Fray?????”
Wheel of Fortune airs on weeknights at 7:30/6:30c. Find local listings on the Wheel of Fortune website.