SHOCK AFTER A “IMPOSSIBLE” LOSS. Wheel of Fortune spirals into controversy when a Bonus Round puzzle costs a contestant a BMW — and fans instantly turn on the show. What should’ve been a thrilling finish quickly becomes frustrating as the phrase “Go For A Jaunt” leaves the player completely stuck. The loss hits hard… but the real twist comes after — when viewers realize many of them have never even heard the word. In seconds, the mood shifts from sympathy to outrage. Social media explodes with reactions, calling the puzzle “unfair,” “confusing,” and one of the most brutal endings ever aired. This isn’t just about losing a prize — it’s about a word that changed everything.
‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Blast Show After Contestant’s ‘Brutal’ Car Loss
We’d like another puzzle! Wheel of Fortune fans bashed the Bonus Round puzzle after they said they “never heard” of a word that was in it. The final puzzle was also a disaster, with the contestant taking a long time to guess it.
Josey Crescio, from Hoffman Estates, Illinois, solved the first toss-up on April 1. She comes from an Italian family and has been married for 34 years. They share three grown kids together.
She played against Ronson Smothers, from Los Angeles, and Tammy Walker, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Crescio soled the second toss-up as well, putting $3,000 in her bank.
Walker, a woman who wrote, produced, directed, and starred in her own mystery dinner theater, solved “Hot Under The Collar.” This gave her $1,200.
Crescio solved most of the next puzzle, but failed to guess all of the letters, so the turn moved to Smothers, a fisherman who was named after his dad, who solved “Working Hard or Hardly Working?” for $4,300. He took the lead.
Crescio guessed “Spread Out The Sunscreen,” but it was wrong. Smothers only guessed one letter before he solved “Break Out The Sunscreen.” He won a trip to Riviera Maya, Mexico, for $17,700.
All three game show contestants solved one of the three Triple Toss-ups, giving them $2,000 each. During the final puzzle, every letter Smothers guessed was not on the board or had already been called. Crescio was the only one who had any luck with letters.
With only four letters left, the contestants were guessing vowels because they couldn’t figure out the first word. Smothers finally guessed a “W” and solved “Weekly Specials.” This gave him a final total of $23,000.
Fans pointed out how disastrous the final puzzle was. “That Final Spin round was brutal to watch 
,” a Reddit user said.
“Too many wrong letters?” another replied.
“It just took them so long to figure it out, especially after they got the Es. I wonder if they forgot the category,” the original fan replied.
“That final spin round was painful,” another fan commented.
Walker left with $3,200. Crescio went home with $5,000. Smothers brought his daughter with him to the Bonus Round, where he chose “Phrase.”
The Wheel of Fortune contestant was given “R,S,T,L,N, and E.” He chose “M,C,P, and O” to round out his puzzle.
The puzzle then looked like “_O _OR _ _ _ _NT.” “Go for a count,” Smothers guessed.
He couldn’t figure out “Go For A Jaunt.” According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a jaunt is a “short journey or excursion taken for pleasure.” Smothers lost out on taking home the BMW car.
Fans had no idea what jaunt was and bashed the final puzzle on Reddit. “I swear I’ve only heard the word jaunt in Wheel of Fortune lol,” one fan said.
“What a dumb final puzzle …. Jaunt …. Really?” another commented.
“In fairness to Ronson, though, the bonus puzzle was crappy. Nobody would’ve guessed ‘jaunt,’” a fan commented.
“Go for a jaunt…that is not a phrase,” one last fan said.
Have you ever heard of that phrase before? Let us know in the comments.
Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock