Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak went out of his way to tell viewers to be kind after a recent episode, when a number of wrong guesses led to an excruciating two minutes on the game show. However, after a contestant's anecdote inspired Sajak to bluntly call it “the most pointless story ever told,” on the March 9 episode, fans are roasting the longtime host for not following his own advice.
When introducing the contestants, Pat Sajak was prompted by producers to ask one hopeful, Scott, about his big toe being cut off. Scott told the host that 30 years prior, he’d fallen off of his bike and caused the top of his toe to be sliced off. A pair of paramedics just happened to witness the accident, and they quickly helped to get his toe reattached. Scott wanted to use his moment on TV to publicly thank the first responders, and as the seemingly stunned audience began to applaud, the host cut them off to declare:
That may have been the most pointless story ever told. And you told it, Scott. Congratulations to you.
Yikes. As if the insult wasn't enough on its own, Pat Sajak even sarcastically congratulated Scott on how pointless the story was. Wheel of Fortune fans immediately made the connection between Pat Sajak’s comment and his previous call for fans to cut the contestants some slack. Some tweeted that Sajak owed Scott an apology:
So @patsajak got on his @WheelofFortune high horse a week ago & lectured everyone to be nice to contestants who couldn’t solve an easy puzzle, but tonight he had no problem belittling and insulting a contestant who told their intro story. Scott needs an apology. #WheelOfFortune
It was just over a week earlier, during the March 1 episode, when Twitter exploded in disbelief after the contestants failed multiple times to complete the puzzle “Another feather in your cap.” Pat Sajak responded to hyper-critical fans in a series of tweets asking viewers to “have a little heart” and understand what a stressful situation it can be for the contestants on stage. Following Sajak’s seemingly hypocritical comment on March 9, some fans were calling for Sajak to be replaced:
So it’s not okay for viewers to laugh when contestants miss an obvious answer but it’s okay for the host (@patsajak) to not pay attention to a contestant, completely dismiss his story & call it pointless on national TV? @WheelofFortune needs a new host!
Not gonna happen, but a nice try, I guess. Other viewers said, hypocrisy aside, saying thank you to someone who helped you in a time of need should never be considered pointless.
How can it ever be pointless to want to publicly thank a first responder? Especially in these times, no matter how long ago it happened!
In his tweets regarding the March 1 incident, Pat Sajak admitted to “teasing the players occasionally,” but says he feels bad when things go wrong for them during the game, and he tries to bring comfort on and off camera when contestants are struggling. But even though the episodes are filmed months in advance, and he couldn't have known how people would react to either of these recent episodes, it seems he didn't remember his own rude comments when trying to admonish rude viewers.
One Twitter user said he doesn’t see that kind of comfort from Pat Sajak as much as he used to:
@patsajak You used to be so nice to contestants by making them feel welcome and calming their nerves on @WheelofFortune. The more you try to be funny, the more I'm beginning to think you're an A-hole. Change my mind.
Pat Sajak has been known to tease the players before, as he admitted, and those zingers are usually taken with the tone the host intends them. However, this episode definitely suffered unfortunate timing issues for airing so soon after the show’s 40-year-strong host chastised fans for very similar behavior.
Check your local listings to find Wheel of Fortune in your area, and take a peek at our 2022 TV Schedule to see what new and returning shows are premiering soon.
