Everyone is wrong sometimes. But there’s simply being incorrect, and then there’s being ridiculously wrong on a publicly televised game show viewed by millions of people. So baffling wrong, in fact, that the entire Internet comes together to roast someone they’ve never heard of before, and probably won't ever hear from again. One Wheel of Fortune contestant unfortunately found herself to be the latter recently, and Twitter won’t be letting her forget her puzzle faux pas anytime soon.
Insert quote hereative Melanie Fisher was doing fairly well for herself on Wheel of Fortune when disaster struck. (Or maybe she struck disaster.) Right after informing host Pat Sajak that she had graduated from college in three years with a perfect 4.0 GPA, Melanie Fisher attempted to solve the puzzle ” _ _ L _ Y GOO _ FELLOW” with the following guess: “JOLLY GOOF FELLOW.” And no, that’s not a written typo as much as it was a spoken one. Luckily, that hilarious and unexpected moment was recorded for posterity and can be viewed here.
If anyone thought Twitter would let Melanie Fisher get away with such a blunder (especially after putting a spotlight on her GPA), you would probably be the Jolly Goof she was referring to. One user even predicted that she would be forced to carry that ill-conceived moniker for all eternity:
That woman will have JOLLY GOOF FELLOW on her tombstone #WheelOfFortune
@realfatapollo
History claims that Albert Einstein was vastly intelligent, despite reportedly being unable to tie his own shoes. It seems that Melanie Fisher was the victim of the same kind of curse. One Twitter user emphasized the difference between book smarts and plain old-fashioned common sense:
Gal on #WheelOfFortune: I graduated college in 3 years with a 4.0. Same gal: Jolly goof fellow
Someone should also probably call NASA. Melanie Fisher’s guess was so shocking that one Twitter user appeared to have left Earth’s atmosphere:
SHE GUESSED “JOLLY GOOF FELLOW” OMG THIS SENT ME TO ORBIT
@NockFourSix
Now, one mistake, however egregious and publicly displayed, can be forgiven. But two? After the ‘jolly goof fellow’ incident, which sparked many other jokes than the ones seen above, Melane Fisher made another guess that can politely be described as "questionable bordering on lunacy." The puzzle spelled out “W_L_ES AND SHEEP.” As any reasonable person can see, the clue was meant to say “wolves and sheep.” Not so, said Melanie Fisher, who guessed “wilkes and sheep.” Which did not earn her much sympathy from some of those same social media users.
Same "I went to college" gal on #WheelOfFortune, with only the O and the V missing guessed "Wilkes and sheep". And she's the frigging big winner. I need to try out. Easy pickin's.
@Coolish_Breeze
Perhaps her degree was in history, and she was thinking of the infamous John Wilkes Booth? Were a few sheep featured in that particular production of Our American Cousin? Or was this user closer to the truth with her theory?
I guess when everyone else was reading about big, bad wolves.. she was afraid of the big, bad wilkes?
@PollyJuicePatty
In the end, as indicated by the tweet above, her college degree prevailed, and Melanie Fisher sidestepped both of her hilarious missteps to make it to the final puzzle of the night. She walked away with a prize of approximately $20,000, and while she may not have lived up to the glory of contestants past, I'm betting some of those Twitter naysayers could use some of that payday. To paraphrase drag legend RuPaul: unless those Twitter users are writing your $20,000 Wheel of Fortune check, pay them no mind.
Wheel of Fortune airs weeknights in syndication, so check your local listings to see when and where it's playing in your area.
