‘The Price Is Right’ Contestants Reveal What You Don’t See on TV

The Price Is Right fans wondered what happens when “controversial shout-outs” or mistakes happen on the game show. Ex-contestants took to Reddit to address these questions.

“Just curious what would (or has) happen to a contestant spinning the wheel who makes, say, a pro/anti political shout out? We obviously never see them, so is it cut out, and the audience in attendance know,s but the viewers don’t know unless someone talks about it on social media?” the Reddit poster asked. “Is there a waiver that all attendees sign that would commit them to legal damages, so no one has ever done it?”

“It would be trivially easy to edit those out if they don’t meet CBS‘s standards,” a Reddit user said.

Folks who have appeared on the show or were audience members chimed in on their experiences on The Price Is Right. One past contestant said that the show had to film his interaction with host Drew Carey five times. “They wanted more drama. I imagine it’s like that. Just some clever editing and dubbing,” they wrote.

Another player shared, “I gave Reddit a shoutout in my PG and they scrambled my voice to make me say ‘internet’ 😂.” “If you listen, it sounds like I stutter and then it comes out internet ‘awkwardly.’ That is not me lol. I said, ‘I am the moderator of The Price is Right Reddit sub.'”

Another revealed what rules are on the forms contestants fill out before auditioning for the show. “The form you fill out to be a contestant notes you’re not allowed to promote a business. That’s really it for shout-outs, but CBS has the right to edit out anything, though,” they said. “A slightly humorous example – allegedly someone at the Superfan primetime special shouted out Mike Richards on the wheel. That wasn’t left in.”

Mike Richards was the producer for many game shows, including Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, but was let go from them in 2021 due to controversies, including a past lawsuit as well as well as comments he made on podcast episodes.

On the same thread, a Reddit user said that rules are explained to the contestants by a producer before spinning the wheel at the Showcase Showdown wheel. They also said that The Price Is Right “reserves the right” to edit out anything they want to. “Presumably, you could ask him there before the round whether something is allowed or not, but even then there’s a chance somebody in the editing bay will override him,” the fan wrote.

Another rule that one fan shared was that contestants are asked not to pick up Drew Carey or knock into him as he is “getting to be a man of a certain age.”

On the other side of things, one Reddit user said that a contestant made an anti-global-warming speech in 2019, and it was left in. “That said…having recently attended a taping myself, I can confirm that the staffers who choose the contestants are extremely good at picking up on people’s vibes, and are careful to avoid folks who they feel might cause trouble,” the fan said.

To find out more rules the contestants have to follow, click here.

The Price Is Right, Season 54, fall 2025, check local listings