‘Wheel of Fortune’ contestant panics, repeats one word constantly — and misses out on whopping $40K
It appears that a 'Wheel of Fortune' contestant wanted to curse badly on national television. During an episode of 'Wheel of Fortune', which was released on June 4, a player named Maki Asrat couldn't control her emotions during the Bonus Round puzzle. At one point, Asrat kept saying the word "cursing" over and over again, which made the show's host, Ryan Seacrest, burst into laughter. In the episode, Asrat, from Brooklyn, New York, was seen competing against Anthony Monroe, from Albany, Georgia, and Jessica Beasley, from Hartsville, South Carolina. Asrat kicked off the game with a bang, solving the first tossup with just two letters on board. Not only this, Asrat also unfigured out the second one.
Elsewhere in the episode, Asrat confessed that she grew up watching the hit singing competition 'American Idol' and stated that she would break down in tears when contestants failed to make it to Hollywood. According to TV Insider, Seacrest admitted, “I still cry when they don’t make it." Then, Asrat tried to decipher the first puzzle and made her first guess, “Someone’s Watching Me.” Although Asrat finally got it right the second time when she said “Somebody’s watching me” and won a trip to Mexico after landing on the Cabo wedge.
During the Mystery Round, Asrat ended up on the Mystery Wedge, which featured $10,000 on the side of it. Eventually, Asrat solved “Egg on Your Face Lift" and added $10,000 to her bank, taking her total to $23,900. On the other hand, Beasley finally made it to the board after winning the Prize Puzzle, which read “The Perfect Temperature." Along with the Wild Card, Beasley also won a trip to Hawaii. Ultimately, Beasley landed in the second spot with $12,319. Soon after, Asrat raked in another $10,000 after she managed to solve all three Triple Toss-Ups. Speaking of Monroe, he was finally able to put some money in his bank after solving the final puzzle, “Dollar Signs.” At last, Monroe left with $3,200; meanwhile, Beasley headed back home with $12,319. Asrat was the big winner of the night with $33,900 in her bank, and she moved on to the Bonus Round.
For the Bonus Round, Asrat chose "What Are You Doing?” After 'Wheel of Fortune' gave her “R, S, T, L, N, and E,” she selected “G, H, C, and I” to round out the puzzle which later on looked like “C_ _SING _N _ _R_ _R.” As the timer counted down, Asrat said, “Cursing in…Cursing, Cursing, Cursing and…” Regardless of her multiple attempts, Asrat couldn't solve the puzzle in time. Then, Seacrest jokingly remarked, “It’s like you’re desperate to say a bad word here." The puzzle was revealed to be “Causing An Uproar.” Following that, Seacrest said, “Sometimes you get on the track and you can’t get off of it,” meanwhile, Asrat continued to laugh.
At the end, Asrat was unable to bring home an additional $40,000, but she still walked away with a good amount. Once the episode dropped, the fans shared their honest thoughts on Asrat's Bonus Round puzzle. One social media user wrote, "I got the puzzle right with Causing an Uproar, I was right. If Maki would've chose a "P" then she would've had a fighting chance, but if Maki had chosen a "U" instead of the "I" as a vowel, then she would've gotten a good chance to solve it." Followed by a second user who penned, "Seems so easy with no pressure from home. I bet that pressure is something else, though." Another user chimed in, "That was a hard puzzle."