Ryan Seacrest Breaks Down Laughing After a Comedic On-Air Mistake on “Wheel of Fortune,” a Moment So Awkward It Feels Like Total Disaster — Until Everything Changes Seconds Later. What Starts as Pure Embarrassment Quickly Turns Into an Emotional Whiplash as the Same Contestant Suddenly Walks Away With an Incredible $80,000 Win. Now the Viral Moment Is Captivating the Internet, Proving That Even the Most Humiliating Seconds Can Transform Into a Life-Changing Miracle No One Saw Coming.
A Wheel of Fortune contestant had a real hoot on Wednesday’s (October 29) “Halloween Week” episode despite a mix-up that cracked up host Ryan Seacrest.
The contestant in question was Abi McLaughlin from North Hollywood, California, who shared with Seacrest that she’s often told she looks like Snow White because of her “dark hair and fair skin.” In fact, she said she’s received so many collectibles of the Disney Princess that she has enough ornaments for a Snow White Christmas tree.
McLaughlin, who was up against Rahima Schwenkbeck, a travel lover from Las Vegas, Nevada, and Evan Thiam, a LEGO fanatic from Alexandria, Virginia, started the episode strong. She nailed both the $1K and $2K Toss-Up puzzles to take the early lead.
It was in the Round 1 “Song Lyrics” category where McLaughlin made her gaffe. When asking Seacrest if she could buy a vowel, she accidentally said, “I’d like to buy an owl.” This highly amused the American Idol host, who kept bringing it up throughout the round, double-checking each contestant wanted a “vowel” and not an “owl.”
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“I forget what the vowel was that she called. If it was “O” I can see why you would accidentally say Owl when she meant to say vowel,” wrote one fan on the Wheel of Fortune Reddit forum.
“HOOT HOOT,” said another.
Another pointed out that this isn’t the first time someone has made the “owl” mistake. “Someone also made that flub on the first episode where they ditched shopping for prizes, and Pat [Sajak] said, ‘We do not sell any birds on the show anymore.’”
Schwenkbeck ended up solving the “Song Lyrics” puzzle to take a slight lead; however, McLaughlin fired back in the Express Round, solving the “Places” puzzle for $4,950 and a trip to Southern Italy worth $12,110.
McLaughlin and Schwenkbeck both solved puzzles in the Triple Toss-Up round, while Thiam bagged himself some cash in the final Speed-Up puzzle. In the end, McLaughlin won the episode with $25,660 cash.
Heading into the Bonus Round, McLaughlin selected the “Phrase” category, along with the letters “B, C, M, and A,” giving her a four-word puzzle that read: “_ _ _ / M A _ E / M E / B L _ S _.”
There were no mishaps or blunders here, as McLaughlin quickly shouted out the correct answer, “You Made Me Blush.”
Seacrest then opened the prize envelope to reveal McLaughlin won an extra $55,000 (the first $55K winner this season), giving her a grand total of $80,660 cash, plus a trip to Italy.