MoxVlog

A person online has claimed their mom was rejected as a Wheel of Fortune contestant because she was "too good."

Posting to X, formerly Twitter, user Kaelan Ramos shared the news when they reposted a clip from a previous episode of the game show. The video was of contestant Khushi, who was on the show in February 2023 during Teen Week. She was faced with a relatively easy question but gave a wrong answer, which stunned viewers and cost her a trip to Antigua.

The puzzle was in the "Food & Drink" category, with the answer ending up being "fresh tropical fruit." After successfully guessing "H" at the end of the first word to bring the puzzle down to just one letter, Khushi was left with a board that read, "FRE_H TROPICAL FRUIT." However, instead of guessing a seemingly obvious "S," she guessed "G" to make the answer "FREGH TROPICAL FRUIT."

Host Pat Sajak—who has helmed the show since 1981—said in the episode: "You know when that happens and you're sitting at home you say 'How in the world can that'—but, you know, sometimes it's a word that just doesn't want to come into focus for you."

Kaelan Ramos explained that they think the show's producers don't intentionally pick people who would do well. Newsweek reached out to Kaelan Ramos on X and contacted Sony Pictures Television, which owns the game show, via email on Wednesday for comment.

Sharing their mom's own experience on the program, Kaelan Ramos captioned their X post: "Fun fact: My mom went and tried out for Wheel of Fortune back in the 90s. We watched taped recordings together and rented the SNES game to practice. She got rejected during the tryout because she was too good at the game."

They added: "I can very vividly remember her describing how she aced everything in her group and thought for sure she would get it. So yeah, when you see these videos of people missing obvious puzzles, keep in mind they weren't chosen based on their skill level."

People took to the comments to share why they think what Kaelan Ramos said could be true.

"Game shows aren't exciting because people getting the questions right, they want personalities. Also they don't want to lose their money," one X user wrote.

"Because the audition isn't an academic exam; it's literally just a casting call," said another.

"If they get people who are too good and win everything. 1. They'll actually have to give the huge amount of money they dangle like a carrot. 2. The people at home won't get as much satisfaction of being 'smarter' than the people on the TV screen," a third person wrote.

"Yeah, it's first and foremost an entertainment show. If you are too good, it can ruin the entertainment factor and not make for a great show," someone else explained.

A fifth added: "So what you're saying is ACT DAFT TO GET RICH."

Khushi isn't the only person to make a blunder over a question people thought was obvious. The January 18 episode of Wheel of Fortune left viewers frustrated as one contestant failed to figure out one of the answers despite coming spectacularly close.

Tina Meier-Nowell, from Portland, Oregon, was doing well in the competition, winning over $30,000 in cash and a holiday, but struggled during the Bonus Round. She picked "Event" as her Bonus puzzle category, along with the additional letters "D, P, M, and O," to go with the customary "R, S, T, L, N, and E." This left her with a board that read, "M _ _ OR _ L _ _ _ RD."

As seen here on YouTube, Meier-Nowell almost immediately answered, "Minor Blizzard," which was close but not correct. As the 10-second timer ran down, she kept repeating her original guess until her time was up.

"You've got to think bigger," Sajak said, as co-host Vanna White revealed the correct answer as "Major Blizzard."

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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