A Wheel of Fortune contestant’s incorrect guess of the final remaining letter in a puzzle caused an audience member to loudly yelp during Monday’s installment.
During the premiere episode of Teen Week, contestant 10th grader Khushi was seen making her way through the board as she worked toward solving the puzzle in the Food & Drink category.
After correct guesses, Khushi was left with two remaining letters on the puzzle, which at that moment read: “FRE_ _ TROPICAL FRUIT.”
Rob Carr/Getty Images;/Wheel of Fortune/Twitter
Instead of solving the puzzle, Khushi guessed an H, which filled in the last letter of the first word, leaving the puzzle displaying as “FRE_H TROPICAL FRUIT.” With one letter missing, the contestant appeared to be flummoxed.
“Solve it or spin it or… but do something quickly,” said host Pat Sajak as the clock ran down, prompting the contestant to have another turn of the wheel.
After she had another spin of the wheel, Khushi incorrectly guessed that the missing letter was a G, prompting an audience member to yell out in horror. As Khushi appeared to turn her head in the audience member’s direction, others watching the action live in the Los Angeles studio were heard groaning.
Another contestant called Julianna then stepped in to correctly solve the puzzle as “FRESH TROPICAL FRUIT,” scooping not only $650 but a luxury trip to the Caribbean island of Antigua worth $10,000.
As the dust settled, Sajak attempted to explain how contestants can sometimes be stuck for an answer, even when it appears obvious to viewers.
“You know when that happens and you’re sitting at home, you’re saying, ‘How in the world can that [not be solved]?'” Sajak said. “But, you know, sometimes it’s a word that just doesn’t want to come into focus for you.”
A clip of the unfortunate moment was shared on Twitter, where one game show fan wrote: “I don’t think I’ve ever heard a single audience member audibly have such a violent reaction on Wheel of Fortune, as this lady did when a poor contestant called a G in ‘Fresh.'”
This story will be updated.