‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Blast Show After Player Is ‘Robbed’ by Harsh Pronunciation Ruling

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Wheel of Fortune viewers came to the defense of one contestant on Monday’s (February 3) game after a brutal ruling over a mispronunciation cost her an early lead and left her shocked.

The contestant in question was Arzice Salonga, a single mom from Medina, Ohio, who is currently a law student. She was also a former Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader for two seasons, including during the team’s first Super Bowl win.

Salonga had a chance to get on the board right away when she buzzed in to solve the opening $1,000 Tossup puzzle. She attempted to answer a two-word “Event” puzzle, which read: “A F _ I _ _ N / _ A _ A _ _.”

She answered “African Safari” but was ruled incorrect for her pronunciation of Safari, which she said as “Sa-FAIR-ee.” This allowed fellow contestant Brian Nelson from Longview, Texas, to buzz in with the correct pronunciation and bag himself the $1,000 prize.

“Yes, safari is the way you have to say that,” host Ryan Seacrest said as Salonga looked shocked. “I just checked with our judges to make sure.”

This early setback seemed to throw Salonga off her game, and it took her a while to heat back up. Fortunately for her, she got her bearings again in the Express Round, where she won herself a $13,198 Colette tour of Scotland, though it wasn’t enough to win her the episode.

Fans took to social media to discuss the harsh ruling, with many believing Salonga was “robbed.”

“She clearly had the right answer, just pronounced it weird. She lost the solve!” wrote one Reddit user.

“She was robbed IMO,” another added.

Another said, “That was cheap. I didn’t think they were so fussy on pronunciation.”

#WheelOfFortune Cmon,Wheel of Fortune🤦🏾‍♀️judges. I knew what she meant when she said African “Safari” that way. pic.twitter.com/RZsafwKsQK

— TLiMS63 (@peacewyns93) February 4, 2025

Now they know good and well they should have given her “Sa-fair-ree” yes it’s pronounced saFARi but still, slight cultural variation has been considered before. #wheeloffortune

— Samantha M (@bamsenlove5) February 4, 2025

Never heard someone mispronounce “Safari” as “Sa-fair-ee” #WheelOfFortune

— Jay (@Jay_3085) February 4, 2025

“That seems really wrong. They’ve been more generous many times in the past, especially if someone has a different accent,” wrote one commenter.

“I think she had a slight accent too, I can’t believe they ruled against her!!” said another.

“She should have totally won that round! Although her pronunciation is not the common one, it was still clear what she said. Plus her pronunciation would have been spelled the same way,” added one viewer.

Another wrote, “I think it was such a mistake by the show. It sounds to me like she has a slight accent of some sort, which shouldn’t be a determining factor. If she had spelled it, it would have been right.”

“100 percent bull**** on that puzzle. She got screwed. I know pronunciations matter but, like…there’s been way worse,” added another.

However, one fan did defend the show, writing, “I’m gonna go against the grain. Wheel is a show about words. You should pronounce the words correctly to win.”

Others thought the show made up for the ruling later in the episode by awarding Salonga the Scotland trip puzzle, despite sounding like she said “BagBIPES” instead of “Bagpipes.”

“As much as I do agree that they ruled correctly on the toss up …. I really did hear BAGBIPES,” wrote one fan.

What did you think of the African Safari ruling? Did the show do the right thing? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.