‘Wheel Of Fortune’ Contestant Ridiculed Online For Two $1 Million Fumbles: “Who Screens These People?!”

By Alex Vena
Published March 4, 2024, 12:33 p.m. ET

Where to Stream:

Wheel of Fortune

Powered by Reelgood

More On:

pat sajak

This Wheel of Fortune contestant seemingly found herself in a once in a million — or rather twice in a million — slip-up.

According to People, Tara Brown fumbled not once, but twice after securing the coveted $1 million wedge on Thursday night’s (Feb. 29) episode.

Facing off against fellow contestants Zoe Tsongalis and Vincent Lassiter, Brown was met with the following puzzle in the “Let There Be Light!” category, which was missing two letters: “BULB, BEA_ _ N, SUN, STARS.”

With the option to either guess a letter or solve the entire puzzle, Brown suggested “H,” which was unfortunately neither of the two missing letters. The audience felt for her, as viewers could hear one audience member yell, “Oh, no!”

Tsongalis then capitalized on the slip-up, as she received the wedge from Pat Sajak and guessed “BULB, BEACON, SUN, STARS.”

Later on, Brown swiftly secured the $1 million wedge once again and guessed correctly, but she couldn’t keep it in tow for too long. Tsongalis ended up becoming the winner, per TV Insider.

Of course, fans on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) had something to say. One critic couldn’t get over her first fumble, and another bluntly wrote, “Who screens these people?!”

One reiterated that she “blew the chance at $1M with that H guess,” per Fox News, but noted that she almost “redeemed herself” later on.

One viewer still commended Brown for being “a smart player.”

Fans of the beloved game show are known to be vocal online. In January, they were fired up after Tarhea Marshall lost out on a BMW because she couldn’t guess the seemingly simple answer of “Bagels and Doughnuts.”

Sajak has even ragged on some down-on-their-luck contestants on the air, telling Micah White back in January that he was “so not close” to solving a Bonus Round puzzle in the “Food & Drink” category.

Wheel of Fortune airs on weeknights at 7:30/6:30c. Check out their website for local listings.