Both sources and insiders recently told Knewz.com that if Seacrest fails to be a beloved host like former host Pat Sajak, White may be the one to take over after all.
“This is a very stressful time for Ryan . He’s in the seat now! Ryan’s trying to sugarcoat this and say it’s good news, that the only way is up since Pat’s ratings are down. But the bosses are worried it’s a free-fall that might not be automatically reversible just by hiring a new host,” sources said to the outlet.
Vanna White, Pat Sajak
Now, ratings have been dropping ever since Seacrest joined, and he’s been at the center of controversy for not mentioning Sajak in his hosting debut. So he’s allegedly already in the hot seat with the producers, who are seemingly thinking of a backup plan (especially since Seacrest got a $28 million-per-year contract).
“The stakes are very high and Ryan’s under enormous pressure to deliver on the massive salary they’re paying him, not to mention the huge money they invested in giving Vanna her raise,” they said to the outlet. “If the ratings don’t come back up, Ryan knows he’ll be the scapegoat, so it’s incredibly stressful.”
So, sources say that if all goes south, White may be the one to actually take over. “Vanna’s in the catbird seat. She can just stand back and see how Ryan gets on. Even if that’s not her intention, she can certainly be the one to benefit from this in a big way because she’d be the next obvious replacement,” they said. “Everyone knows there’s no one the fans would rather see take over from Ryan — she’d be a slam dunk!”
For those that don’t know, throughout 2023, White was fighting for a substantial raise , and in early 2024, rumors spread that she was willing to throw it out due to not loving her new partnership with Seacrest. After controversy and continual back and forth with producers, she did end up with a raise of some kind after receiving $3 million for the past few decades, leading her contract to be expanded to 2026.
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