Viewers fume as ‘Wheel of Fortune’ contestant loses car in Bonus Round amid alleged timer glitch
‘Wheel of Fortune’ fans had another big reason to express their frustration. In an October 15, 2024 rerun episode, Jamel Vanderburg from Hempstead, New York, lost a car on the show. He competed against Marvel Murray from South Carolina and Nancy Naigle from Virginia. During the game, he won $40,998 in cash and a trip to Alaska. Thanks to his strong performance, Vanderburg advanced to the Bonus Round.
Naigle, an author of small-town love stories, won $1,000, while Murray earned $23,400. Talking about the ABC7NY local news meteorologist from New York, he chose the “Phrase” category in the Bonus Round. As per TV Insider, Vanderburg was one letter away from solving the puzzle, but fans claim he was robbed of time. In the Bonus Round, Vanderburg got the letters “R, S, T, L, N, and E,” as well as “W, Y, P, and A.” Following this, his puzzle looked like ‘ALWAYS _N _E_AN.” Even before the timer started, Vanderburg shouted, “Always On Demand!” At that point, he had only five seconds left on the clock. Vanderburg then turned to co-host Vanna White, hoping his answer was correct. However, the correct answer was “Always IN Demand,” as Ryan Seacrest revealed during the episode.
@WheelofFortune Jamal got screwed! They buzzed him with time still on the clock!
— SubUrban DiyGuy (@SubUrbanDiyGuy) October 15, 2024
Jamel stood on the set in disbelief. To his shock, Seacrest told him he’d almost won a Ford. Although Vanderburg was seen stunned, he said he was glad that he had won $40,000 and a trip to Alaska when Seacrest hugged him. While Vanderburg stayed positive, fans expressed frustration online.
What just happened on #WheelOfFortune ? The buzzer went off, but the clock was still running. Jamel was cheated.
— Steven Prusakowski (@FilmSnork) October 15, 2024
Several fans claimed Jamel had a few seconds left when the letters began filling in. A fan wrote, “The guy on the show today beat the timer, and he lost the Ford. What a travesty,” on Instagram. Another one on X said, “@WheelofFortune Jamal got screwed! They buzzed him with time still on the clock!” Meanwhile, a comment on YouTube read, “He was so close, but I love his positivity in spite of not winning.” Some fans even suggested that the game show should have given the contestant a win.
Others blamed Seacrest for not addressing the timer glitch. “Ryan, tonight on @WheelofFortune they rang the buzzer and cut the Bonus Round music on Jamel with 40% of his time left. … Then started filling in the puzzle with 1 more tick left on the clock. He knew ‘Always on demand’. With that time left, he’d have solved ‘Always IN demand,’” a fan stated. The ‘Wheel of Fortune’ fans have been targeting the new host since the time he set foot on the game show. As per Newsweek, after the January 27 episode, a few fans took it to Reddit asking, "Why did Ryan forget to tell the player to dump the wild card after landing on bankrupt?" "I'm not sure if he's been forgetting too much or he's just being too lazy to remind the player," another comment read.