‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Slam Ryan Seacrest Over Mispronunciation of Texas City
Wheel of Fortune fans have been going back and forth over whether a contestant’s answer on Wednesday’s (November 6) episode should have been awarded despite their messy mispronunciation of a Texas city. And many are saying that host Ryan Seacrest was wrong to accept the answer.
The contestant in question was Alicia Sagle, a school nurse and fitness instructor from Red Wing, Minnesota, who was awarded the money in the first round’s “On The Map” category in spite of her mangled pronunciation of Lubbock.
Sagle had control of the wheel when she opted to solve the puzzle, which read “Dallas, Houston, and Lubbock, Texas.” However, she made a mess of pronouncing the name of the final city, calling it “Loo-bock” rather than “Lubbock.” Regardless, host Ryan Seacrest accepted the answer and awarded Sagle the $1,900.
This good luck would stay with Sagle throughout the game as she continued to rack up cash and also bagged herself a trip to New York City. In the end, she won the episode with $22,020 cash and advanced to the Bonus Round.
However, some viewers couldn’t get over the “Lubbock” controversy and took to social media to debate Seacrest’s decision to accept the answer.
“I would not have acccepted that mangling of Lubbock, Wheel of Fortune,” wrote one X user.
I would not have acccepted that mangling of Lubbock, Wheel of Fortune.
— Rocco C. (@ElRocco337) November 7, 2024
“Yeah not acceptable,” another agreed.
“Stormed out of the room when Ryan Seacrest accepted “LOO-BACH” for Lubbock, Texas on Wheel of Fortune,” said another.
Another added, “Lue-Bock vs. Lubbock. Who pronounces it which way? Let yourselves be known.”
Wheel of Fortune X
Meanwhile, a fan on the Wheel of Fortune Reddit forum wrote, “I was surprised they gave her that puzzle on tonight’s episode. It the past, they wouldn’t give credit for incorrect pronunciation. ”
“As a Texan I agree,” responded one commenter.
That said, not everyone was so harsh on Sagle’s mispronunication. One fan on X wrote, “I am so glad that they accepted her answer even though she pronounced Lubbock incorrectly and glad that Ryan Seacrest said it correctly.”
Others were simply amused, with one viewer writing, “Haha LOOObock, Texas. Makes it sound fancy.”
“Lady pronounced Lubbock as “loo-bach” on wheel of fortune and if I didn’t have a sleeping baby in my arms I’d cackkkkkkkle,” said another.
The controversial ruling comes after Monday’s (November 4) episode, which saw Seacrest accepting a contestant’s answer of “Expresso martini” instead of the correct answer, “Espresso Martini.”
As for Sagle, her luck ran out in the Bonus Round when she selected the “What Are You Doing?” category along with the additional letters, “D, C, G, and O.” This left her with a three-word puzzle that read: “_ _ _ _ N G / T _ E / R O _ N D S.”
Sagle struggled with the first word, guessing “Boxing, “Mobbing,” and “Mailing” before the timer ran out. Co-host Vanna White then turned the letters to reveal the correct answer, which was “Making The Rounds.”
Seacrest opened the prize envelope to reveal Sagle missed out on an extra $40,000. Still, she walked away with $22,000, a trip to NYC, and the knowledge of how to correctly pronounce Lubbock.
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Comments are closed on this story.
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O
Do fans not understand that Seacrest is not the one who decides if an answer is correct (nor was Sajak for that matter). There are judges for that; we don’t see them and pauses and other glitches are carefully edited out, but they are the ones who make the final decision. And on the occasions they do make a mistake, players are brought back out of fairness to all.
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People are plain idiots.
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G
Pronounce "Raleigh" is it Ra' lee, R au le, Rally, or Rawl e? I've heard all these and more. Now spell it . . . She got the letters, let it be
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I agree. I live near Raleigh and it's one of those names if your not from here, you would have no idea how to say it or spell.
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Of course it was a valid answer. All the letters were in the mispronunciation. If folks in Louisiana pronounce New Orleans as New Awlins, that's colloquial.
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It wasn't. She was wrong. She was given credit for being wrong. Colloquial isn't the same as mispronounced. The word "pecan" comes to mind. It's pronounced different ways in different parts of the country. "Puh-con", pee-con, puh-can, but the word is phonetic. There is one way to pronounce Lubbock.
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There's no colloquial pronunciation for Lubbock. I'm surprised at WoF. Pronunciation use to matter.
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It’s not up to Seacrest, he is just following orders…get a grip.
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B
She was probably thinking of the Waylon Jennings song Luckenbach, Texas, and was pronouncing it like that.
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I'm a Texan who lives near WHACKO. I enjoy visiting WHO-STONE and EEL PAYSO. Glad she didn't have to pronounce Mexia (muh-HAY-uh) or Salado (suh-LAY-doe)!
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Happiness is Loo Bock Texas in my rear view mirror, LOL.
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C
Or Waxahachie 🤠
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Forgot that one! 😃
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Years ago a guy said "vaniller ice" and it was accepted. Different areas, different speech patterns.
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NOBODY says Lue-bock. NOBODY. Except those who DON'T live in Texas. Like they can't pronounce Kuykendahl, a street in Houston, either. Only those who live in Houston area will know how. It has nothing to do with different areas or speech patterns. Yes, people up north add -er to words that end in -a, and in the south they remove the -er and add an -a, the exact opposite of the north, but NOBODY in Texas accepts OR says Lue-bock. 😂
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How do you say it then? Shit I just found out the city "Hue-ston" isn't pronounced like "How-ston" street in NY.
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I think people need to stop trying to find too many flaws for reasons to get rid of Ryan Seacrest . Ever since Pat Sajak left all I hear is people acting dumb over little things. I noticed he doesn't use cue cards to learn about the contestants. Pat Sajak always had his cue cards on him. Stop putting people down and grow up. Ryan is doing his best and I don't hear any contestants complaining just people judging harshly. Why can't we learn to accept changes will not bring Pat Sajak back. God help us with people in negative talk.
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Is the capital of Kentucky pronounced Looey-Ville or Lewis-ville?
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The capital of Kentucky is Frankfort, soooo.....🙄
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Clempson
Clemzen
Clemson..no P or Z please!
People have too much time on their hands!!
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Tomatoe tamotoe
Potato
Pototo
Maybe that was just a way of that person's speech and wasn't any difference to how was prononced where she came from. We never know someone's back stoty.
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Either it's right or it's wrong. She was WRONG and got rewarded for it.
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Diana, as bad as Dan Quayle: it's "tomato" ... ["tomatoes" is the plural].
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Poor stupid stupid fans! Just when you think they can't get any dumber, they do!! 🙄🤣
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She pronounced it like it is spelled. Just cause she’s not a lone star hick ain’t her fault. Mexia Texas is next.
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O
He corrected her and they moved on.
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These "fans" need to get a life. It's a TV game show and none of your whining and complaining will change it
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If you don't like how the show is being run then don't watch it. There are those critical idiots everywhere. Get a life people.
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Or maybe just get it right and stop with the participation trophies.
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omg people, get a life...picking Seacrest apart will not bring Pat back...he doesn't make the rules, he just follows them. I think Ryan is doing a great job!!!
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I live in LUBBOCK, Texas not Loobock!
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It all depends what all letters were showing when she solved the puzzle. Were all letters there, or wad she guessing the o's?
Years ago there was a lady that solved the puzzle "American Red Cross" by saying Cruss (pronounced it like cruise) She seems to me like she wasnt aware of the answer and just put in a vowel that hadnt been guessed yet. They gave it to her, saying it was just her way of talking. It was clearly not. I think they didnt want trouble. She was a minority(but had no accent, clearly born and raised in the U.S)
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I don't think she ever heard of Lubbock. She didn't have the last letter as I rèmember and gave the pronunciation as Loo-BACK. She could have easily thought it ended in h and pronounced it as Loo-BACH. Had she done this the judges probably not given it to her because pronouncing the ending as BACH would show she guessed the missing letter wrong.
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Let's see those people pronounce Oconomowoc
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G
If you sound out the vowels, long or short, the u is not pronounced as 'uh'. I'm sure you would butcher Kamehameha or Kalanianaole!
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I pronounce it Shit Hole... I live in Lubbock
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So leave.🙄
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C
I was born in Texas. Texans have a superiority complex. Their pride in their state is hard to take. Of course they think everyone in the world should know how to pronounce Lubbock. Ugh..and please Texans, stop playing "The Eyes of Texas are Upon You" at the conclusion of everything!! BTW, I never say I was born in Texas, I say I was born in Paris. Yes, Paris, Texas...but I just don't add the Texas part. It's embarrasing.
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Ugh!!! Don't tell us Texans what song to play at our football games!! I hoped u moved out of Texas and on to California (Cali) sounds like that is where you need to be!!!!!!
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Ryan Seacrest ,was horrible choice as the new host. Please “retire “ him now!
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