‘Wheel of Fortune’: Snow White ‘Lookalike’ Wins $80,000 & Cracks Up Ryan Seacrest With Gaffe
What To Know
- Abi McLaughlin, a contestant often compared to Snow White, won $80,660 in cash and a trip to Italy on a Halloween-themed episode.
- McLaughlin made a humorous gaffe by accidentally asking to “buy an owl” instead of a vowel, which amused host Ryan Seacrest.
- Despite a brief lead change and competition from other contestants, McLaughlin solved the Bonus Round puzzle to secure her win.
A Wheel of Fortune contestant had a real hoot on Wednesday’s (October 29) “Halloween Week” episode despite a mix-up that cracked up host Ryan Seacrest.
The contestant in question was Abi McLaughlin from North Hollywood, California, who shared with Seacrest that she’s often told she looks like Snow White because of her “dark hair and fair skin.” In fact, she said she’s received so many collectibles of the Disney Princess that she has enough ornaments for a Snow White Christmas tree.
McLaughlin, who was up against Rahima Schwenkbeck, a travel lover from Las Vegas, Nevada, and Evan Thiam, a LEGO fanatic from Alexandria, Virginia, started the episode strong. She nailed both the $1K and $2K Toss-Up puzzles to take the early lead.
It was in the Round 1 “Song Lyrics” category where McLaughlin made her gaffe. When asking Seacrest if she could buy a vowel, she accidentally said, “I’d like to buy an owl.” This highly amused the American Idol host, who kept bringing it up throughout the round, double-checking each contestant wanted a “vowel” and not an “owl.”
Wheel of Fortune YouTube
“I forget what the vowel was that she called. If it was “O” I can see why you would accidentally say Owl when she meant to say vowel,” wrote one fan on the Wheel of Fortune Reddit forum.
“HOOT HOOT,” said another.
Another pointed out that this isn’t the first time someone has made the “owl” mistake. “Someone also made that flub on the first episode where they ditched shopping for prizes, and Pat [Sajak] said, ‘We do not sell any birds on the show anymore.'”
View this post on Instagram
Schwenkbeck ended up solving the “Song Lyrics” puzzle to take a slight lead; however, McLaughlin fired back in the Express Round, solving the “Places” puzzle for $4,950 and a trip to Southern Italy worth $12,110.
McLaughlin and Schwenkbeck both solved puzzles in the Triple Toss-Up round, while Thiam bagged himself some cash in the final Speed-Up puzzle. In the end, McLaughlin won the episode with $25,660 cash.
Heading into the Bonus Round, McLaughlin selected the “Phrase” category, along with the letters “B, C, M, and A,” giving her a four-word puzzle that read: “_ _ _ / M A _ E / M E / B L _ S _.”
There were no mishaps or blunders here, as McLaughlin quickly shouted out the correct answer, “You Made Me Blush.”
Seacrest then opened the prize envelope to reveal McLaughlin won an extra $55,000 (the first $55K winner this season), giving her a grand total of $80,660 cash, plus a trip to Italy.
Did you figure out this Bonus Puzzle? What did you think of Wednesday’s episode? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Wheel of Fortune, Weeknights, check local listings
Spin That Wheel
Get absolutely everything about Wheel of Fortune in your inbox!
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services