PAT Sajak has suffered the brunt of one angry contestant who blamed the Wheel of Fortune host for distracting him.

But Pat took the accusation in stride and snarked back at the player.

5

5

On a recent Wheel of Fortune episode, Michael Bystrzycki, a master electrician from Drummonds, Tennessee, was working his way through a Crossword round, where contestants are asked to solve a series of interconnected words with the same lead-in.

In this case, the four words all had “fire” as the first part.

Michael looked to be about to solve the puzzle when he suddenly changed course and decided to spin the wheel one more time.

He landed on Bankrupt – losing everything.

Luckily for him, his turn eventually came again, and after making a comeback correctly solved Fire – “works, wood, department, and pit.”

After celebrating his win, Pat wanted to know what had stumped him before.

“Which one were you shaky on the first time?” he asked, opening a can of worms.

“None. I just looked at you instead of looking at the puzzle, and ‘works’ went out my head,” Michael immediately shot back. “I was like, ‘ah, he said spin, so I’m spinning’. Let’s go”.

A depressed Pat simply threw his arms up, looked directly at the camera, and snapped back a sarcastic, “It’s always my fault.”

Michael had the last laugh, however, winning the game – and then the bonus round – leaving the show with a new Infinity car and an overall total of $111,160 in cash and prizes.

INDOOR VOICES

It wasn’t the first time Pat has been called out by a contestant.

Late last year, a contestant named Jill failed to solve the final round puzzle, “Voicing Our Opinion.”

That’s when she decided to voice hers.

“Come on,” she said.

Wheel of Fortune host timeline

Premiering in 1975, the beloved game show has had a few different iconic hosts in its nearly 50 seasons.

1975 – 1981 : Chuck Woolery was the original host of Wheel of Fortune until he departed in 1981.

1981 – June 2024: Pat Sajak took over and became a beloved Wheel of Fortune host for over 40 years.

September 2024: Ryan Seacrest was declared the newest host as Sajak announced his retirement.

Pat seemed caught off guard and replied, “What do you mean, come on?”

She turned to the host and flat-out asked, “What kind of puzzle is that?”

Pat looked shocked by the pushback and held a finger up.

“It’s a puzzle you didn’t solve,” he slammed back, causing the audience to roar in laughter.

Jill missed out on an additional $40,000 per the glitzy prize card but still got her existing $27,680.

SAYING GOODBYE

Pat won’t have to play the victim for much longer.

The 77-year-old announced last year that he’s retiring from the game show at the end of this 41st season, which is now only days away.

In June 2023, Pat revealed he would soon be leaving the show, and it was announced soon after that Ryan Seacrest would be taking over as host.

Almost a year later, Pat’s final episode of Wheel of Fortune is almost here.

The big finale was filmed last month and is currently set to air on June 7.

With Pat now readying to leaving, the show has prepared a series of tributes.

The weeklong goodbye will be called Thanks for the Memories and will culminate with his final episode.

5

5

5