The hate has gotten so bad for recent contestants on Wheel of Fortune that Pat Sajak himself had to stp in.
In an interview with TMZ, contestant Christopher Coleman is addressing social media trolls following his appearance on the long-running game show.
For those unfamiliar, Coleman and the rest of the contestants failed to solve the puzzle of “Another Feather in Your Cap” during his appearance on Wheel Of Fortune. Unfortunately, their Wheel Of Fortune faux pa led to trolling at the hands of social media.
Actor Josh Gad even tweeted about it
God help us all pic.twitter.com/rnQbkNvT7j
— Josh Gad (@joshgad) March 2, 2022
“This idiom [‘Another feather in your cap,’] is something I learned when I was six or seven years old. But I haven’t heard it in over 30 years and so it has been a while for me,” Coleman said to TMZ. “You are also under a lot of scrutiny and pressure when you’re in production. A lot of people are sitting at home on the comfort of their own couch, yelling and screaming at the TV, when we [the contestants] are the ones in the moment and in real time, trying to guess and figure out what this puzzle is.”
He also had a message for people sending him hate
“You go up there. Half of you don’t even have public speaking skills,” he said. “You go on Wheel of Fortune and go into the shoes of where we were standing. And then it will be a whole another conversation when they are trending and making donkeys of themselves.”
Host Pat Sajak arrived to their defense on social media.
“It always pains me when nice people come on our show to play a game and win some money and maybe fulfill a lifelong dream, and are then subject to online ridicule when they make a mistake or something goes awry,” he wrote in one tweet.
It always pains me when nice people come on our show to play a game and win some money and maybe fulfill a lifelong dream, and are then subject to online ridicule when they make a mistake or something goes awry.
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
The lengthy thread continued in part, "The first attempted solve was “Feather in your hat” which, by the way, is how a lot of people say it. So all three players thought it was a good solve, and were stunned when I said it was wrong."
The first attempted solve was “Feather in your hat” which, by the way, is how a lot of people say it. So all three players thought it was a good solve, and were stunned when I said it was wrong.
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
He continued, "Now imagine you’re on national TV, and you’re suddenly thrown a curve and you begin getting worried about looking stupid, and if the feather isn’t in your hat, where the heck can it be? You start flailing away looking for alternatives rather than synonyms for “hat.”
Now imagine you’re on national TV, and you’re suddenly thrown a curve and you begin getting worried about looking stupid, and if the feather isn’t in your hat, where the heck can it be? You start flailing away looking for alternatives rather than synonyms for “hat.”
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
"But mocking them online and calling them names? These are good people in a bad situation under a kind of stress that you can’t begin to appreciate from the comfort of your couch."
But mocking them online and calling them names? These are good people in a bad situation under a kind of stress that you can’t begin to appreciate from the comfort of your couch.
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
I have fun with players and I tease them occasionally, but when things go wrong, I feel for them, and I try to salve the wounds on camera and off. So, yeah, it was an oddly entertaining puzzle and it’s okay to laugh at the situation. But have a little heart.
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
Overall, the host says cut them some slack.
After all, you may be there one day. And no one wants to be trending on Twitter.
— Pat Sajak (@PatOnWheel) March 2, 2022
