Wheel of Fortune’s famous host, Pat Sajak, has announced that he will be retiring after 40 years of hosting the famous game show and will be replaced upon retirement by Ryan Seacrest. Once Sajak announced that he would be retiring, his co-host, Vanna White, demanded a raise. She has not gotten it. Instead, the Daily Mail reports that a source said executives of the game show view White as replaceable.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, an inside source said that White is upset about Seacrest being hired, saying, “She was disappointed that they didn’t give her more of a chance to take over Pat’s job, or that she wasn’t able to give her two cents on the replacement.”
Continuing, the source added that White was particularly upset because the news of Seacrest’s appointment to fill Sajak’s shoes was so important, saying, “She didn’t assume they would be making the announcement of his replacement so soon.”
The source then told the Daily Mail that it is not that White is upset that she’ll be working with Seacrest, as she has “nothing but respect for Ryan and will be happy to work with him,” but rather that the network executives weren’t being respectful of her despite her long career on the show, as the sudden appointment “just shows a lack of respect in her eyes that they have for her.”
That’s when the source got to how the network executives view the situation rather than just how White views it, noting that they seem to think she is replaceable and so aren’t necessarily willing to pay her more and make major accommodations for her view of the show. The source said: “She wants to be with the show for as long as she wants to be on the show, on her terms. She believes she deserves it. It is a major uphill battle, especially when money is involved and she sees the writing on the wall that they think she is replaceable.”
The Daily Mail’s source then noted that White is taking the negotiations extremely seriously and would be heartbroken if she gets replaced, saying, “There will be lots of negotiations, but if she gets replaced and is not given a new contract, she will be beyond heartbroken. This has been her life, it would be just as powerful as a death if she doesn’t continue with the show.”
The source then noted that what leverage White might have had in the past is gone now that the longtime producer of the show is gone, saying, “Things got a little bit different with the show for Pat and Vanna during COVID, as the atmosphere changed on set once [Harry] left the show and retired. It just wasn’t the same vibe… Nobody dislikes anyone, it is just different, and the leverage that Pat and Vanna once had is not there anymore.”
That then led to the source reinforcing the message that White is seen as replaceable, saying, “She usually… keeps to herself, comes to work, does her thing, and leaves. She is friendly with everyone, but with the new regime, she doesn’t have the clout she once had, is no longer bulletproof, and is unfortunately made to feel replaceable. She doesn’t want to retire and leave the show, so she really hopes she doesn’t get pushed out. That is the last thing on her list to happen, she wants to stay, but she also wants it to be fair and is going to fight for what she believes in and what she deserves.“
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