‘Wheel of Fortune’ Contestant Loses 10K After Shocking Mistake – Fans React
A Wheel of Fortune blunder left viewers baffled on Friday, March 15, as one contestant missed out on a massive $10,000 after messing up one letter on a seemingly obvious puzzle.
The contestant in question was Hannah Smith, a frequent traveler from Portland, Oregon, who told host Pat Sajak she recently moved out of her mother’s house into her own place.
Smith was up against Carla Nesbitt-Stokes, a married mother of two from San Diego, California, and Dave Brouillette, a retired correction officer from Venice, Florida.
Early in the game, Smith had a chance to take a significant lead as she took on a “Before & After” puzzle worth $10,000. When it came time for Smith to spin the wheel, the puzzle was almost solved, reading, “F E E L I N G / _ N _ E R / T H E / _ E A T H E R / _ A L L O O N.”
“Can I solve it?” Smith asked before answering, “Feeling Under the Feather Balloon?”
Not only did Smith mess up “Feather” and “Weather,” but she also used a word beginning with “F” even though “F” was already on the board.
“That’s not it,” Sajak said as Nesbitt-Stokes swooped in with the correct answer, “Feeling Under The Weather Balloon.”
This shot Nesbitt-Stokes up to $11,050 and gave her the momentum for the rest of the episode. Smith was never able to recover, while Nesbitt-Stokes went on to win the game with $22,250 in cash and a trip to St. Maarten.
“Her dumbass just said feeling under the FEATHER balloon. Baby, what???” wrote one viewer on X (formerly Twitter).
“Feeling under the feather balloon sounds kinky but also definitely the wrong answer,” said another.
Another added, “Feeling Under the Feather Balloon. I love the contestants on Wheel.”
“FEATHER BALLOON???!! WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE???!!!” wrote one commenter.
“I know this chick on wheel of fortune didn’t just say feather balloon instead of weather balloon bro who the f*** are they getting for these shows,” said another.
As for Nesbitt-Stokes, she was probably thankful for Smith’s blunder, as it took the attention off her mistake early in the episode when she guessed as puzzle as “Cedar Rapids, Ohio” instead of “Cedar Rapids, Iowa.”
Wheel of Fortune, Weekdays, check your local listings