Wheel of Fortune , and they’re already mad at him. The longtime American Idol host made his debut as Wheel‘s new host on Sept. 9, taking over for Pat Sajak. According to The Sun, Seacrest made a significant flub on his first episode, with many fans taking to social media to call him out for not correcting a contestant who mispronounced “ripened” while solving a puzzle.
Usually, every word on the board has to be pronounced correctly in order for it to count. However, when the contestant did not pronounce “ripened” correctly, Seacrest ignored it and granted them the win. One fan wrote on Instagram, “I thought he said the wrong word but when Ryan said he was correct, I assumed I misheard. Why would the producers allow him to win the puzzle when he was wrong? Not a good way to start the new season, especially with a new host.” Someone else voiced that Seacrest should have been “fired after the first episode.”
That is not the only flub that Seacrest has had. For the Sept. 16 episode, a contestant had lost the $1 million prize during the bonus puzzle, and viewers were displeased with the way Seacrest handled the situation. Via Daily Mail, contestant Vivian failed to solve the bonus puzzle, and when Seacrest opened the envelope, it revealed the rare $1 million prize. Understandably, Vivian was shocked and sad as Seacrest smiled and chuckled, saying, “You were so close to that million dollars. You almost had it.”
In the comments of the clip that was posted to the show’s official Instagram, one user wrote, “Ryan doesn’t show the envelope correctly. He keeps showing to the contestant when he should be showing it to the audience and viewers at home. Also, he didn’t handle the distraught contestant too well. LOL!!!!” Another shared, “He’s gotta work on his empathy skills. Lol yikes!! Can he even remember what it’s like to not be rich?! lol oh Ryan.”
Many others compared Ryan Seacrest to Pat Sajak, and how the former host handled the loss in the past. “Ryan laughed at her, I felt – Pat was way more demure about it,” one user wrote. Another said, “Didn’t Ryan say something like ‘You’re going to kick yourself’ or something like that? While Pat acted like somebody died. I’m not here to pile on Ryan but I preferred Pat’s approach better.”
