‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Shocked as Pat Sajak Gets Replaced by Jared Leto
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Wheel of Fortune viewers tuning into Monday’s (April 1) episode got a surprise when the show’s long-time announcer, Jim Thornton, told everyone to welcome “the stars of our show… Jared Leto and Vanna White.”
The Oscar-winning actor then walked onto the stage, arm-in-arm with White, as they greeted the studio audience. Regular host Pat Sajak was nowhere to be seen.
“Have a great show, and see you soon,” Leto told White as he left the stage and joined the three contestants at the wheel.
“Alright, everyone, grab those devices. It’s time to give away some money,” the House of Gucci star continued before introducing the game’s first puzzle. “A $1000 in our first toss-up, the category is On The Map.”
After the puzzle was solved, Leto disappeared, and Sajak stood in his place as if nothing had ever happened. For the rest of the episode, the show didn’t mention Leto’s surprise appearance or reference the strange situation at all.
Of course, this was all a clever April Fool’s Day prank, even if it took viewers a good thirty seconds or so to realize.
“Is it just me or did i see for 15 seconds @JaredLeto on #WheelOfFortune as a host for s41 e146???” asked one fan on X (formerly Twitter).
“I don’t watch #WheelOfFortune but was very confused by that intro,” added another viewer.
Another wrote, “Hey @WheelofFortune I’m confused. Did @JaredLeto just turn into @patsajak ?!?!?”
“Okay, #WheelofFortune pretending Jared Leto was filling in for Pat Sajak may be one of my favorite April Fools Day pranks ever!” said one commenter.
“I want to so badly know how the phone call went to jared leto to do this prank on #wheeloffortune. I cant stop laughing. It was so random, i thought i was having a fever dream or something,” added another.
One viewer added, “I keep forgetting it is April Fool’s Day!”
The Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman took to Instagram after his appearance to share a clip from the episode, writing, “How’d I do?”
Jared Leto Instagram
This wasn’t Leto’s first appearance on Wheel; he and his brother (and bandmate) Shannon Leto were actually “contestants” back in November as part of a stunt to announce the band’s 2024 world tour.
While Leto won’t be replacing Sajak, the legendary game show host will be retiring this summer at the end of Season 41. American Idol‘s Ryan Seacrest is set to take the helm, with White remaining by his side as co-host.
Were you confused by Leto’s appearance? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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