‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Blame Ryan Seacrest for Contestant’s Bankrupt Disaster
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Wheel of Fortune took a turn on Wednesday, February 12 when a player lost all of their earnings, and fans are blaming host Ryan Seacrest for it. Stephen Bailey, a nonprofit worker and a cover band lead singer from North Richland Hills, Texas, played against Brianne Peterson, a deal lover and surrogate from Las Vegas, Nevada, and Cathy Adams, a cruise lover from Tacoma, Washington.
By the end of the first round, Bailey was in the lead with $2,800 and a wildcard. When Wheel came back from the commercial break, the contestants played the Mystery Round. Adams spun first but landed on Lose a Turn, so it moved to Bailey, who was on a roll and guessed most of the letters, even winning an Alaskan cruise. After spending a lot of his winnings, buying vowels, Bailey landed on $1,000 with the option to pick it up and see what was on the other side. He guessed an “R,” of which there was one in the puzzle, so he was able to roll the dice and flip it over. Bailey revealed a “BANKRUPT” panel, losing all of his earnings.
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“Oh. Let’s go, right?” Seacrest encouraged.
Bailey had to hand over his wildcard and cruise to Seacrest, who didn’t warn him about the possibility of going Bankrupt.
“I’m here for you,” a solemn Seacrest said before moving on to Peterson’s spin, who also landed on Bankrupt, but didn’t have any money to lose.
Wheel of Fortune via Youtube
When it came time for Bailey to spin again, he landed on the dreaded Bankrupt once more, but luckily didn’t have anything to lose that time around.
Ultimately, Seacrest not warning Bailey cost him the game. Some fans noted that Pat Sajak would have gently warned the contestant that he was taking huge risks with his decision-making.
Wheel fans commented about the move on Reddit. “I don’t think I’ve seen a round quite like that one. I was watching it with some family and there were several gasps with the “g” called and the decision to flip the mystery wedge,” the original poster said.
“The guy was a total idiot to pick up the mystery wedge. He had over $4,000, a trip and a wild card and he risked that for a 50/50 (alleged) chance at $10,000. So stupid!!!” said another.
“I wish Ryan would remind people that they’re not just risking the cash when they flip it. At least Pat would mention the Wild Card, any cardboard, etc.,” a fan wrote.
However, another Reddit user defended him saying that he is still learning, since he only became host last year after Pat Sajak‘s retirement.
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“@WheelofFortune On 2/12/25 Stephen had a wildcard, $4,750, Holland America trip, landed on $10,000 wedge. Pat would have immediately reminded him of what he would lose… Ryan didn’t. Never does. Contestants are nervous and don’t recall. It wasn’t $10, 000. He lost everything,” an X user wrote.
“@WheelofFortune why didn’t Ryan advice Steven that he had the cruise, wild card, & over $4000 cards before he took a chance on the bankruptcy/$10,000 choice,” asked another.
After all that drama, it was Peterson who wound up in the Bonus Round.
She picked the category “What are you doing?” After the show gave Peterson the letters, “R,S,T,L,N, and, E,” the puzzle looked like “_ _ _ _ N _ S_ _ E_NE _ _ _ _.” Bailey guessed the remaining letters of “C, H,P, and A.” After her letter appeared on the board, the puzzle changed to _ _ _ _N_ S_ _E_NE A H_ _.”
After ten seconds, Peterson didn’t guess it and the puzzle was revealed to be “Giving Someone a Hug.” She lost out on $40,000, taking home her total of $17,900.
Peterson’s puzzle was hard to solve with the letters that she had, but fans couldn’t help but blame Seacrest for Bailey losing all of his prizes.
