‘Wheel of Fortune’ fans divided over Ryan Seacrest’s decision on odd puzzle guess

Ryan Seacrest ruffled a few feathers after a controversial puzzle guess ruling.

This week, one “Wheel of Fortune” player missed out on the first puzzle of the episode and a $1,000 prize after incorrectly pronouncing her puzzle guess.

The two-word puzzle read: “A F _ I _ _ N _ A _ A _ _.” The player, Arzice of Medina, Ohio, correctly guessed “African Safari” but mispronounced the second word as “sa-fair-ee,” making the answer incorrect. Another player, Brian, picked up the prize instead.

“Safari is the way you have to say that,” Seacrest said, with Arzice appearing to realize the error. “Just wanted to check with our judges to make sure.”

Vanna White and Ryan Seacrest attend the WOF S42 – Pier Wheel Launch at Santa Monica Pier on Aug. 30, 2024, in Santa Monica, California.
Social media chatter was mixed, with some users baffled at the mispronunciation while others came to the player’s defense.

“C’mon, Wheel of Fortune judges. I knew what she meant when she said African ‘Safari’ that way,” one person wrote on X.

“Wheel of Fortune you suck! The woman said African Safari and was correct but used a southern twang! That was rotten!” another person wrote.

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“Her guess had almost all the same letters as the correct solution!” one person said. “Unfortunately, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades — and #wheeloffortune is not horseshoes and hand grenades.”

“(African Safairee) Isn’t A Word In Dictionary Or Wikipedia,” another person chimed in. “If The Contestant Was Allowed To Win $1,000 That Would Cheat The Other Contestants!”

The third contestant, Krystal, ultimately took home the win with a $17,650 prize.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Wheel of Fortune’ fans upset with Ryan Seacrest over puzzle verdict