It was a holiday episode of the wildly popular game show, “Wheel of Fortune,” and contestant Charlene Rubush seemed poised to go home with something big to put under her tree.
That’s when host Pat Sajak did his impression of classic Christmas villain Ebenezer Scrooge. Rubush, it seems, got into the show’s bonus round and simply had to complete a puzzle to win a new car. She did, but Sajack announced that due to a technicality, Rubush would forfeit the new Audi.
That didn’t sit well with viewers — or with the German luxury brand. Now, after tracking down the contestant, Audi says it is giving Rubush a new Q3 SUV after all.
Choosing the right word
For the handful of folks unfamiliar with “Wheel of Fortune,” three contestants compete for money and other prizes by spinning an oversized wheel, picking letters and, finally, by completing a word puzzle.
During the show that aired Tuesday, Rubush wound up in the bonus round where a particularly big prize is dangled in front of the cameras. The letters, “RSTLNE” were already filled in and Rubush got to pick a few more. She then had to solve the four-word answer. She started with “Choosing the right card,” the wrong answer, but had the chance to try one more time. Again, she began, “Choosing the right …” before pausing and then saying, “… word!”
That was the right answer but, Sajack told Rubush, she took too long. On that technicality, she lost the Audi Q3, an SUV that carries a starting price of around $36,000.
“This one’s tough because you said all the right words, including the word ‘word’ but as you know, it’s got to be more or less continuous,” host Sajak said. “We’ll allow for a little pause but not four or five seconds. I’m sorry, you did a good job in getting it but we can’t give you the prize and it was the Audi.”
Quick backlash
Her letdown was obvious, even though Rubush did finish the day with $16,500 in earnings.
But the reaction among viewers and those clued in on the flap via social media was intense, and immediate. “Come on @WheelofFortune, the woman literally chose the right word,” tweeted Alex Jacob, a winner on “Jeopardy,” another popular game show. “Give her the car.”
“Wheel” officials weren’t bending. Back in April they refused to award another car to a contestant due to a minor technicality.
Audi plays Santa
This time, however, Audi stepped in after tracking down the disappointed contestant.
“It is the season of giving after all, and, technicality or not, we are always eager to share a bit of Audi magic and cheer,” Tara Rush, chief marketing officer for Audi of America, said in a statement. The company, she added, was “thrilled to gift Charlene” with the Q3.
“Wheel of Fortune” and Sony, which produces the game show, could find a lump of coal waiting in their stockings tonight. Earlier this week, a clue was botched, causing plenty of confusion, when the name of rapper Yung Joc was incorrectly spelled “Young Jock.”