Pat Sajak wants social media to “have a little heart” and remember how the pressures of being on live TV can make playing Wheel of Fortune more difficult.
The game show’s long-time host published a Twitter thread on Wednesday requesting viewers be a little kinder to those on the show who might struggle to find the right answer in the high pressure of the moment.
“It always pains me when nice people come on our show to play a game and win some money and maybe fulfill a lifelong dream, and are then subject to online ridicule when they make a mistake or something goes awry,” he wrote. “Last night’s ‘Feather in your cap’ puzzle was a case in point. Sitting at home, it seems incredible that they couldn’t solve it, but I knew in real time what was happening.”
It always pains me when nice people come on our show to play a game and win some money and maybe fulfill a lifelong dream, and are then subject to online ridicule when they make a mistake or something goes awry.
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
The moment Sajak references saw all three contestants Laura Machado, Christopher Coleman and Thomas Lipscomb take a total of eight turns and 10 attempts to solve the puzzle. Machado initially tried to solve it as “Another feather in your hat” — a slight variation on the actual answer — prompting others to offer their own attempts at getting that last three-letter word.
In the process, contestants not only offered incorrect answers, but landed on Bankrupt and several Lose a Turns, extending the length of the round.
The moment trended on social media, with many users questioning how the contestants struggled to get an answer so seemingly obvious. But Sajak said there was more to the experience of playing the game in studio, and that those at home should be more sensitive to the pressures of the game.
“Now imagine you’re on national TV, and you’re suddenly thrown a curve and you begin getting worried about looking stupid, and if the feather isn’t in your hat, where the heck can it be? You start flailing away looking for alternatives rather than synonyms for ‘hat,’” the Wheel of Fortune host explained. “And, of course, when it’s solved, you want to crawl in a hole.”
He continued to say that he’s “been praised online for ‘keeping it together’ and not making fun of the players,” but that in reality, he just wants to support the contestants in their live TV moment, helping them understand that even the game’s brightest players get tripped up.
He went on to say those “mocking them online and calling them names” don’t understand the stress the show’s “good people in a bad situation” are under from “the comfort of your couch.”
“Good-natured laughter is one thing. Heck, they laughed at themselves. But, hey, cut them some slack,” he tweeted. “I have fun with players and I tease them occasionally, but when things go wrong, I feel for them, and I try to salve the wounds on camera and off. So, yeah, it was an oddly entertaining puzzle and it’s okay to laugh at the situation. But have a little heart.”
He concluded with a reflective note for those that might think about cracking a joke in the future. “After all, you may be there one day. And no one wants to be trending on Twitter.”
Source: Hollywood
