“Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak is back in the news just a day after the internet went wild when he “tackled” the winning contestant in one of the show’s more entertaining, if bizarre, moments as of late. This time it’s for “yelling” at a contestant. Like the tackling incident, it was jocular and in good fun, but livened up the show a bit and took the internet by storm.
The “yelling” incident came when a contestant, Nicole from Georgia, said, “Oh! I’m going to solve,” when the puzzle had just two unknown letters left. Pat, in response, loudly exclaimed, “Please, solve the darn puzzle!”
Fox News Digital, describing the semi-frustrating moments leading up to Sajak’s exclamation, reported:
Nicole had already successfully guessed several letters in a row when Sajak said, “Looks pretty good to me,” as if to say there should be no need to spin again.
With four letters missing from the puzzle in the “Same Name” category, Nicole chose to spin again, selecting a ‘P.’ She narrowed the puzzle to two missing letters after guessing ‘Y.’
She ultimately solved the puzzle correctly, shouting, “Coconut and cough syrup!” before letting out a sigh of relief.
The camera then cut to Sajak, who shared, “It’s a horrible moment when you know that ‘everyone in America knows what this is, why don’t I?’ But you got it,” he told Nicole.
He then went on to joke that she was just pretending not to get it to keep the show’s ratings up, saying, “We appreciate that you pretended you didn’t know ’til the end, you increased the drama and that was great.” Watch the incident here:
Reporting on the “tackling” incident, The American Tribune’s Todd Peterson said:
Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak stunned his live audience and television viewers when he engaged in a wrestling hold with one of the contestants on his weekday show.
During the taping, a contestant by the name of Fred revealed he was, among other things, a professional wrestler. This tidbit came in handy after Fred won every puzzle thrown at him and the two other poor souls, who left empty-handed, and even cruised to a sweet $40,000 victory in the final round. Fred wound up winning over $75,000 for his efforts.
Sajak first asked the other two contestants after time ran out if they wanted him to “body slam” Fred for his complete domination. They said yes, and then once Fred won the bonus round, the host let him hug his father before wrapping him up in a confusing hold. While the gist is obvious enough – he was having fun in the moment – it was confusing to plenty of other folks.
In addition to being a game show host, Sajak is a committed conservative. In fact, since 2003 he has served as a board member for Hillsdale College, one of the country’s most prominent conservative, Christian higher educational settings.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded YouTube video
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