'Wheel of Fortune' under Fire after Tiny Technicality Costs Contestant Kristen Shaw $1,950 and $8,000 Trip to Nashville

The game show, "Wheel Of Fortune," recently earned a lot of protests from viewers after a participant on the show missed out on nearly $10,000 worth of winnings due to a slight technicality.

A contestant on the "Wheel Of Fortune" game show, Kristen Shaw, fell short of winning the puzzle prize, as a result of a rule glitch, which viewers regard as negligible.

THE PUZZLE CHALLENGE

Kristen Shaw partook in the game show in high spirits, hoping to be the lucky winner of a luxury trip to Nashville worth $8,000 and a $1950 cash prize.

When her efforts were about to pay off, the excited contestant mentioned a word, which wasn't intended as part of the game, but a mere joining word.

The game participant was down to the last seconds of the crossword puzzle challenge of the show, which she solved after several attempts. She listed the four words that appeared confidently as: "Right, football, left and Sally."

However, the rules of the game require that the participants list only the words that appear, with no extras, which immediately ruled out Kristen from being the lucky winner, since she added the word "and."

The winnings were given to the next contestant who was quick to list the same four winning words as Kristen's, without the conjunction.

"WHEEL OF FORTUNE" UNDER FIRE FROM VIEWERS

Since the heartbreaking episode, viewers have taken to online platforms to express their disapproval over Kristen's unlucky fate, while pointing out that the little addition should have been overlooked since she got the answers right.

One viewer tweeted,

"Utterly Ridiculous that you didn't give credit to Kristen for the field puzzle because she said "and" before the last word on the list. Functionally no different from the pauses you allow. You know she knew the puzzle."

Despite the onslaught from fans, some of the "WOF" viewers are in support of the game's show verdict dealt on the ill-fated participant. A tweet by one of the ardent supporters read:

"Anybody who watches WOF knows not to add anything. The rule is fine; it's a world where we must fix everything to win is wrong."

"WHEEL OF FORTUNE" ANCHORS SPEAKS OUT

Following the outpouring of sentiments by "WOF" fans, a spokesperson for the game show finally addressed the issue, saying that the long-standing rule allowed participants to say what was on the board without adding words.

He also mentioned that all contestants were aware of the said rule because the show host, Pat Sajak, never failed to remind them as they worked on the puzzle.

Notably, after Kristen's sad loss during the show, the show host reminded her of the rules, before calling it a loss. He said:

"You maybe didn't even hear yourself say it, but you threw an 'and' in there with the last thing, and we have to go by the rules."

Although the contestant accepted her fate without question, fans' reactions to the loss might indeed lead to an adjustment on the rigid rules, and hopefully, get Kristen a shot at the grand prize.