Ryan Seacrest on Wheel of Fortune leaves a contestant hanging in a way that had confused some fans and irritated others

Ryan Seacrest made a move some thought was a mistake (
Image: Wheel of Fortune/Youtube)

Ryan Seacrest had what appeared to some like a blunder on Wheel of Fortune recently.

Contestant Cody Hunger, who secured a spot in the final game of the BetMGM Big Winners Tournament, was doing the Bonus Round on the October 4 episode of the puzzle game show. He selected “Phrase” as the category for the round. After his final spin, he picked additional letters: “C, D, Y, O.” The additional letters spell his name which is something Cody has done before on a previous Wheel of Fortune game when he was doing the Bonus Round.

Cody guessed “Out of the way” and while Vanna White smiled and clasped her hand together after he answered, Ryan did not say anything. There was brief pause where Cody and the audience was not sure if he had won. Then Ryan finally spoke, saying his name first in what sounded like an almost questioning way and then he followed with the exciting news: “That’s it!.” and “Congratulations!”

As Ryan confirmed the win with a big grin, the iconic letter-turner allowed herself to fully react by putting her hands up in the air and clapping for Cody. Cody ended up winning the $94,900 jackpot as confetti cascaded on the studio and he was joined by his friends.

Ryan waited before telling Cody he won ( 
Image:
Wheel of Fortune/Youtube)
The pause did not go unnoticed by fans as a fan made a thread about it on the Wheel of Fortune subreddit. They titled their post “How about that pause” and went to express their thoughts of the “nightmare” Ryan put Cody through. They wrote: “What a nightmare for the guy as he had to wait for Ryan to wake up and tell him he got the puzzle. Vanna was clapping as soon as he said it!”

Some agreed with the original poster while others thought Ryan’s pause was intentional and was used to create “suspense.” On fan wrote: “my dude forgot how to host.” A second fan said: ” It was quite awkward.” Another fan said: “The pause, I believe, is due to the producers wanting to build up Drama…it’s happened a few times now with Ryan…Not a fan of the way the show’s being produced since he’s taken over the lead…Jusss Saying…” A fourth fan agreed, saying: “Yeah this was filmed months ago. If it were actually a mistake it would have been edited out. They did the pause on purpose to build suspense.”