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Mom-daughter duo walked into ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and didn’t exactly follow rules — but still scored $40K

'Wheel of Fortune' contestant claps back at fans who call her victory unfair

‘Wheel of Fortune’ contestant Dr. Kchristshan Howard didn’t let fans bully her over a puzzle. As part of the show’s Fan Favorites Week, Howard returned to play the game with her daughter, Kennedi Williams. The mother-daughter duo from Waxahachie, Texas, competed against the dad-and-son team George Sr. & Mansour Chaya and the mother-and-son pair Terrence & Donna Mason during the special week. Howard and Williams were on a roll from the start, pulling ahead of their fellow contestants. With $23,948 in cash and a trip to Tuscany, the mother-daughter duo advanced to the highly anticipated Bonus Round.

They also had the advantage of a Wildcard Wedge in the final round that allowed them to pick an extra letter for the final puzzle. The duo settled on the category “What Are You Doing?” for that round and chose “V, D, C, O, and P,” as additional letters. The puzzle they were left with read something like “_ O _ N _ / P L _ C E S.” The correct answer to the puzzle was “Going Places,” but Howard added an extra word out of excitement. “I’m Going Places,” she answered enthusiastically. Technically, her answer was incorrect due to the added word, but Howard and her daughter were still awarded the win.

“Come back here, say it right,” host Pat Sajak summoned her to her spot, where she answered the puzzle correctly before the timer ran out. “There you go,” Sajak acknowledged her correction. He then revealed the duo had won an additional $40,000, breaking last week’s Bonus Round losing streak. Although she gave the correct answer before the timer ended, many fans felt the win was undeserved.

“The mother-daughter at the end should not have won the bonus round. Pat should have said, I am sorry, but that’s incorrect. Instead, he told her to say it the right way, and that is wrong. Completely unfair,” an Instagram user objected, as per TV Insider. “I have seen them deny every other contestant that adds words incorrectly to a puzzle, yet they allowed her the win,” another social media user wrote. “Tonight was curious… the lady at the end went to guess the puzzle, got carried away, and said, ‘I’m going places!’ and started dancing, but the puzzle was “Going places”, yet she won!” a third fan pointed out.

On the contrary, many came to her defense, claiming that she guessed the puzzle correctly before the timer beeped. “She corrected it within two seconds,” one netizen argued. “That’s not how it works. She still had time on the clock,” another fan defended Howard. “If you didn’t watch the episode, I get that. But if you did watch the episode, she said ‘Going Places’ literally two seconds after. Please pay attention,” a third social media user wrote. Howard saw the opportunity and chimed in to defend herself. “We have until the time clock runs out,” she commented.