‘Wheel of Fortune’ Bashed as Brandi Carlile Fan Loses $60,000 on ‘Hipster Phrase’
Wheel of Fortune fans didn’t like the vibes of the bonus round puzzle. Many of them bashed it online and said they had never heard of the “hipster phrase,” as the contestant lost out on taking home $60,000.
Krista Schlegel, from Rosemount, Minnesota, solved the first toss-up on May 22. The wife and mom is a super fan of music star Brandi Carlile.
She played against Mitch Landsburg, from Ivyland, Pennsylvania, and Anushi Parikh, from McAllen, Texas. Parikh, a woman who teaches Bollywood dancing, solved the second toss-up.
Landsburg, who has sat in a hot tub with Justin Bieber, solved the “Who Wins?” puzzle — “Harry Potter or Voldemort?” for $5,700. During the Crossword puzzle with the category “___ Cone,” Schlegel solved most of the puzzle until she landed on Bankrupt.
Landsburg decided to solve instead of getting money for another letter. He put $1,000 in his bank when he solved “Snow, Waffle, Pine,” giving him $6,700. Schlegel took the lead when she rode the Express Train on the next puzzle. After she had only vowels left, she solved “Doing Absolutely Nothing,” which gave her $9,900.
It was the prize puzzle, so she won a Caribbean Cruise. This gave her a total of $18,145.
Rarely do WOF contestants ride the train or correctly solve the puzzle fully to win the money. If they don’t solve it, they get a total Bankruptcy. Fans reacted to the success on Reddit. “Finally, someone who plays the train the way it’s supposed to be played,” one said.
“I agree with you,” said another.
Landsburg solved two of the three Triple Toss-ups, while Schlegel solved the third. McAllen put some more money in her bank when she solved the final puzzle — “Lunch Bunch.” This gave her a final total of $6,950.
Landsburg ended with $10,700. Schlegel was the night’s winner with $20,145.
She chose “Phrase” for her Bonus Round category. Schlegel brought her parents and two best friends with her.
Wheel of Fortune gave the game show contestant “R,S,T,L,N, and E.” Schlegel rounded out her puzzle with “C,D,M, and O.”
The puzzle then looked like “_ L_ _E _O_R _ _R_.” As the clock counted down, she guessed “I Love Your Hair, “I Love Your Words,” “I Love Your Care, “I Live Your…”
She couldn’t figure out “I Like Your Aura.” An Aura is slang for someone’s vibe or energy.
The envelope had $40,000 in it, which would have given her $60,145. Fans bashed the bonus puzzle on Reddit.
“What the actual f**k was that final puzzle phrase? Please, I’d love to see video evidence that anyone actually says that,” one viewer said.
“Hipster phrase. I knew it from RSTLNE,” another fan commented.
“What?? Who says that,” a fan wrote with a laughing emoji.
“I was thinking I LOVE YOUR WORK for the bonus puzzle until the Os came up, I was stumped after that,” a third added.
Could you figure out the bonus puzzle? Let us know in the comments.
Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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