Controversy On 'Wheel of Fortune' As Fans Claim 'Unfair Terminology' Cost Contestant The Game

In Friday’s episode of the sensational game show, fans were thwarted with the correct answer to a bonus question. 

As the game peaks, Julie, the contestant with the highest score of over $15,000, picks the “person” classification, choosing letters P, G, M, and O as her extra letters. 

Julie from Wylie was asked to solve a puzzle by filling in the blank to complete the missing letters; “_O_N_ _ N G P _  R T N E R.”

The right answer for the puzzle is “FOUNDING PARTNER” but Julie couldn't deduce the answer.

According to the host, Pat Sajak, the implication of not getting the correct answer is that Julie lost out on $40,000.

The fans and viewers of the game show were unhappy with the verdict and immediately took to Twitter to challenge the authenticity of the answer.

One person tweeted, “'Founding Partner?' The writers really phoned that one in!”

The tweet received many responses, and someone commented, “The terminology is unfair and the wordplay is far-fetched. It should not be permitted. #unfairwheel."

One netizen tweeted that there is no such word, and they are just making it up.

Yes, it is. It means the owner of an initial enterprise before private equity business buyers acquired it. Thus, the puzzle was correct. 

In the heat of the moment, while everyone was tweeting about Julie, someone diverted the conversation to another player saying, “Bro on the wheel of fortune fighting for his life right now.”

The player continued, “He’s gotten bankrupt for the last three spins.” 

A fan weighed in on the matter and said that even though the term is correct, many of them might still not get it because it is tricky. It just implies that WOF will bring out questions from any angle. 

Julie could take home $15,000 even though she missed out on $40,000 if she had gotten the question right.

It’s been a tough week for WOF fans because most of their local stations changed their programming course to the NCAA March Madness tournament, and the show is no longer aired on Thursday and Friday.

The executive pacified the fans via the official Twitter account and offered an alternative. 

Here is the tweet, “If you are unable to see tonight’s episode of Wheel due to NCAA March Madness or another special programming on your local station, we will accept any puzzle solution or word of your choice (please keep it clean) submitted by 2:59 p.m. PT tomorrow (Friday, March 17) as valid for the Fun & Games $10K Giveaway.”

In response to the executive tweet, a fan made fun of the weighty matter, saying someone’s grandma is somewhere in Western Arkansas, thumped by the airdate, and has to wake up at 3 AM just to stream WOF.

One fan with the Twitter handle, Patricia Smith, said she couldn't watch the show because she did not know where to watch it.