Wheel of Fortune fans insist Ryan Seacrest needs to 'loosen up' as he's compared to ex host Pat Sajak

Beloved game show Wheel of Fortune has been around for decades.

Since Wheel of Fortune host, Pat Sajak stepped down in June of this year, many longtime fans have been trying to get accustomed to Ryan Seacrest. The American Idol host took over Pat’s role in September 2024. Despite the TV personality adding flare to the hosting gig, it seems that some aren’t receptive to Ryan stepping in for Pat, who hosted for 41 years. Countless fans of the game show called out the former Live! morning show host for being incomparable to Pat.

"@RyanSeacrest sounds like he's the voice over of an old school sports talk video game. Loosen up man. #WheelofFortune has a different vibe w/out @PatOnWheel,” one person commented on X, formerly Twitter.

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A second person on the social media platform added: "@WheelofFortune I watched Wheel of Fortune today for the first time since they changed host it is just not the same I'm so sorry but where's the enthusiasm Ryan You had it on every other show you hosted it just weird." Meanwhile, a third commenter remarked: "Ryan Seacrest sounds like a robot. Loosen up man. #WheelOfFortune."

While a fourth person shared, "Turn on Wheel of Fortune with 12 in room. She looks up at TV and exclaims, 'Who’s THAT GUY!??' Had to explain Pat Sajack retired and @RyanSeacrest took over. Let’s just say, 12 is not a fan. #WheelOfFortune.' This isn’t the first time that Ryan has caught flak from Wheel of Fortune fans.

His game show debut caused much chatter as folks were deciding how they felt about him. Between the new set design and a slip of the tongue by one of the contestants that was overlooked, fans were up in arms. Some superfans were vexed by the technical blunder and others were simply confused by it. The mix-up happened during the show's third puzzle under the food and drink category.

Contestant Terry Watson had mispronounced the puzzle which was "Vine-ripened tomatoes." However, despite that mispronunciation which fans noticed, Ryan appeared to view the answer as acceptable and granted Terry the win.

Fans took to social media to discuss the mistake especially when mispronunciations have cost other contestants the game before. One fan expressed their disbelief: "Omg guy pronounced the word wrong on Wheel of Fortune and they let it slide. First time" A second fan asked: "Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure I heard 'vine-ripening tomatoes' instead of 'vine-ripened tomatoes' during the first Wheel of Fortune episode of the season.”