Wheel of Fortune watchers are up in arms after a contestant was awarded a win they deemed incorrect.
The January 10 episode of Wheel of Fortune in question featured contestants Kiana Moreland, Frankie Allocca, and Cara Green.
The third game of the evening granted Kiana, Frankie, and Cara the opportunity to solve a puzzle in the “Living Things” category.
Kiana solved the puzzle correctly, “Aardvarks and Antelopes,” and won $1950 as a result.
However, the way she worded her puzzle solution has Wheel watchers debating whether she should have been disqualified rather than awarded a win.
When Kiana decided she was ready to solve the puzzle, she phrased it as a question, asking host Ryan Seacrest, “Is it Aardvarks and Antelopes?”
Wheel of Fortune viewers debate whether Kiana’s answer is valid
One Wheel of Fortune viewer headed to Reddit after the episode to call out the judges’ decision, claiming Kiana should have been disqualified for her solve.
“I was absolutely positive the judges were gonna rule her answer incorrect, but after Ryan’s longer than usual pause he announced she got it right! Wth?!” u/caleyco griped.
“I thought the whole ‘adding any extra words’ thing was universal to all puzzles,” they continued, calling the call an “injustice the likes of which the world has never seen before!!”
The comments section soon became filled with feedback from fellow Wheel watchers, who offered their two cents on the confusion about the rule.
One such Redditor surmised that since Kiana hadn’t started saying the actual puzzle solution yet and didn’t technically add any extra words to the middle or end of the answer, she was in the clear.
As another Wheel of Fortune fan pointed out, contestants can’t add words between solving their puzzles; otherwise, they’d have to start over without interruption to be awarded the win.
“Doesn’t happen often, but there is a provision in the rules that allows for something like this,” added u/survivorfan95.
Here’s what Wheel of Fortune’s rules say about solving a puzzle
As u/rejectmariosonic posted, the official Wheel of Fortune Live website shares the rules online.
Per the website’s section titled “Solving The Puzzle,” “As a general rule, contestants should not add any extra sounds or words not in the puzzle and the solving of the puzzle will, in general, be considered correct if letters have not been added or subtracted.”
Additionally, contestants wouldn’t be disqualified for adding “‘it’s a’ or ‘it’s an’ to the puzzle, if this is in response to the host’s question ‘What is it?’ or ‘What are we looking for?’, or any variation thereof…”
Kiana won big despite a Bonus Round loss
Regardless of what Wheel of Fortune viewers think, Ryan Seacrest and the panel of judges award Kiana a win.
Kiana’s performance earned her a coveted appearance in the Bonus Round, where her category was “What Are You Doing?”
Despite her best efforts, Kiana wasn’t able to produce the winning answer, “Having A Few Laughs,” costing her the $100,000 grand prize.
At the end of the day, Kiana’s gameplay wasn’t a complete fail; she amassed a total of $19,290 in cash and an African safari courtesy of Overseas Adventure Travel, along with a special gift from Ryan Seacrest.
Wheel of Fortune shared a clip of Kiana’s post-game appearance on Instagram in a Reel captioned, “You know we had to make sure Kiana had a little #WheelOfFortune memento to add to her collection! Do you collect anything?! 👀.”
As Kiana revealed in the clip, she collects shot glasses from all over the world. Her family and friends also add to her collection whenever they travel.
Kiana was lucky enough to add yet another shot glass to her collection when Ryan pulled one out of his jacket pocket.
“We have a little closet back there here at Wheel of Fortune,” Ryan teased as he presented the glass to Kiana.
“We found you something to add to your collection,” Ryan said.
Kiana appreciated his gesture and thanked Ryan for the surprise souvenir.