Current:Home > FinanceDid 'Wheel of Fortune' player get cheated out of $40,000? Contestant reveals what she said -Secure Horizon Growth
Did 'Wheel of Fortune' player get cheated out of $40,000? Contestant reveals what she said
View
Date:2025-04-12 19:56:29
She'd like to solve the mystery.
Some "Wheel of Fortune" fans became convinced this week that a player was cheated out of $40,000 after being ruled incorrect despite giving the right answer during the bonus round. Now, the contestant herself has weighed in.
The category in the bonus round was "living thing," but contestant Megan Carvale didn't quite come up with the answer, "pink orchid," in time. Or did she?
In what quickly became the game show equivalent of "the dress" debate, some viewers argued that Carvale did say "pink orchid" as her first guess, yet she was not ruled correct. She proceeded to wrongly guess "pony orchid" just before time ran out. "You might have been overthinking thinking of a type of orchid," host Pat Sajak suggested. Had she given the right answer, Carvale would have won $40,000.
"I'm sorry, did she NOT say Pink Orchid the first time? Or am I tripping," one user on X, formerly Twitter, asked.
"There is no question, she absolutely said 'pink orchid,'" another fan wrote. "Please give this girl her winnings!"
Others argued that Carvale said "something orchid," not "pink orchid." So Carvale appeared Thursday on "Good Morning America" to put the debate to rest and reveal what she really said.
"You know, I wish I said pink, because I would have been $40,000 richer," she said. "But I said 'something.'"
This came as a surprise to "Good Morning America" hosts Michael Strahan and Robin Roberts, both of whom thought Carvale said pink after watching the clip.
Pat Sajakstunned by 'Wheel of Fortune' contestant's retirement poem: 'I'm leaving?'
The debate could have something to do with the volume at which fans watched the original segment. Prior to Carvale's explanation, when the clip was uploaded to YouTube, many commenters agreed she said "something."
"On low volume it sounds like pink orchid but on high volume it's definitely 'something orchid,'" one YouTube comment said, while others pointed out that Carvale likely would have objected in the moment had she given the right answer.
New 'Wheel of Fortune' hostRyan Seacrest worries about matching Pat Sajak's quickness
Carvale admitted on "GMA" she was "so bummed" to have not won the bonus round, and the viral debate over her answer forced her to relive the loss. But despite not taking home the $40,000 bonus prize, Carvale still won $14,007 and a trip to Aruba on the show, and she found another way to see the bright side of the situation.
"You know what, at least it's positive attention," she told "GMA." "It could have been people making fun of me that I didn't get it right."
veryGood! (98783)
Related
- Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
- American citizens former Gov. Bill Richardson helped free from abroad
- The Turkish president is to meet Putin with the aim of reviving the Ukraine grain export deal
- Long Island couple dies after their boat hits a larger vessel
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- Lobstermen Face Hypoxia in Outer Cape Waters
- On the Road celebrates Labor Day with 85-year-old hospital cleaner working her dream job
- Robots are pouring drinks in Vegas. As AI grows, the city's workers brace for change
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- How heat can take a deadly toll on humans
Ranking
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Stock market today: Asian shares surge after Wall St gains on signs the US jobs market is cooling
- Smash Mouth frontman Steve Harwell in hospice care, representative says
- Largest wildfire in Louisiana history was caused by arson, state officials say
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Gen. Stanley McChrystal on what would close the divide in America
- Jimmy Buffett's cause of death was Merkel cell skin cancer, which he battled for 4 years
- Coco Gauff reaches US Open quarterfinals after ousting former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki
Recommendation
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
Jet skiers reportedly killed by Algerian coast guard after running out of gas
Gasoline tanker overturns, burns on Interstate 84 in Connecticut
Insider Q&A: Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic foresees interest rates staying higher for longer
What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
23 people injured after vehicle crashes into Denny's restaurant
Iga Swiatek’s US Open title defense ends with loss to Jelena Ostapenko in fourth round
Remains of British climber who went missing 52 years ago found in the Swiss Alps