Wheel of Fortune fans claim show is 'rigged' after a contestant gets 'screwed' over

Wheel of Fortune fans haven’t let up with their complaints about the game show since longtime host Pat Sajak announced that he was retiring from the series.

Now that Ryan Seacrest has taken over the series for season 42 and beyond, many viewers are struggling with the changes, and even more so with the recent show error. Several fans took to social media to criticize Tuesday’s episode for appearing to buzz a contestant before the timer was up.

“What just happened on #WheelOfFortune? The buzzer went off, but the clock was still running. Jamel was cheated,” one person wrote on X, formerly Twitter , referring to tonight’s player.

• Pat Sajak announces retirement plans after stepping down from Wheel of Fortune

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Another noted, “@WheelofFortune Jamal got screwed! They buzzed him with time still on the clock!” Although Ryan most likely wasn’t the one to blame for the on-air mishap, that’s not how some saw it.

“@WheelofFortune Ryan Seacrest screwed Jamel out of the last 3 seconds of his puzzle tonight! Yall owe Jamel a redo! And an apology!,” a critic ranted. Another said, “I can now say with pride. Wheel Of Fortune has become the most fucking rigged game show since Seacrest joined the cast. I’m done following the goddamn show. Who shall join me! #wheeloffortune.”

It seems that the TV personality isn’t many Wheel of Fortune fans' cup of tea. Recently, Ryan found himself catching heat from fans for how he presents himself when he hosts Wheel of Fortune. In a thread on Reddit, several fans raged about the outfits Ryan wears on the program, and how they pale in comparison to Pat.

“The most obvious difference is how they dress. Pat always (almost) wore a suit or sports coat, and always with a tie,” one person shared on Reddit platform.

“For me, it was a nod to a classic look that has been lost over time. Ryan tends to wear sport jackets with open collar shirts,” they explained. “Perhaps it’s due to their generation gap of 27 years. Or the show’s producers saw it as part of the modernization of WOF. But thankfully the nixed the idea of replacing Vanna [White} with an animatronic.”

A person in the thread added to the moderator’s intial remark, writing: “I think Ryan is still just in that ‘prove yourself’ part of the job like we all get with any new job. It takes a while before you can let your guard down, relax, be yourself.”