Wheel of Fortune viewers got here to the protection of 1 contestant on Monday’s (February 3) recreation after a brutal ruling over a mispronunciation price her an early lead.
The contestant in query was Arzice Salonga, a single mother from Medina, Ohio, who’s at the moment a regulation pupil. She was additionally a former Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader for 2 seasons, together with throughout the group’s first Tremendous Bowl win.
Salonga had an opportunity to get on the board instantly when she buzzed in to unravel the opening $1,000 Tossup puzzle. She tried to reply a two-word “Occasion” puzzle, which learn: “A F _ I _ _ N / _ A _ A _ _.”
She answered “African Safari” however was dominated incorrect for her pronunciation of Safari, which she mentioned as “Sa-FAIR-ee.” This allowed fellow contestant Brian Nelson from Longview, Texas, to buzz in with the proper pronunciation and bag himself the $1,000 prize.
“Sure, safari is the best way it’s a must to say that,” host Ryan Seacrest mentioned as Salonga seemed shocked. “I simply checked with our judges to verify.”
This early setback appeared to throw Salonga off her recreation, and it took her some time to warmth again up. Thankfully for her, she bought her bearings once more within the Specific Spherical, the place she gained herself a $13,198 Colette tour of Scotland, although it wasn’t sufficient to win her the episode.
Followers took to social media to debate the tough ruling, with many believing Salonga was “robbed.”
“She clearly had the appropriate reply, simply pronounced it bizarre. She misplaced the remedy!” wrote one Reddit person.
“She was robbed IMO,” one other added.
One other mentioned, “That was low-cost. I didn’t suppose they had been so fussy on pronunciation.”
#WheelOfFortune Cmon,Wheel of Fortune🤦🏾♀️judges. I knew what she meant when she mentioned African “Safari” that means. pic.twitter.com/RZsafwKsQK
— TLiMS63 (@peacewyns93) February 4, 2025
Now they know good and nicely they need to have given her “Sa-fair-ree” sure it’s pronounced saFARi however nonetheless, slight cultural variation has been thought-about earlier than. #wheeloffortune
— Samantha M (@bamsenlove5) February 4, 2025
By no means heard somebody mispronounce “Safari” as “Sa-fair-ee” #WheelOfFortune
— Jay (@Jay_3085) February 4, 2025
“That appears actually improper. They’ve been extra beneficiant many occasions prior to now, particularly if somebody has a unique accent,” wrote one commenter.
“I believe she had a slight accent too, I can’t imagine they dominated in opposition to her!!” mentioned one other.
“She ought to have completely gained that spherical! Though her pronunciation is just not the frequent one, it was nonetheless clear what she mentioned. Plus her pronunciation would have been spelled the identical means,” added one viewer.
One other wrote, “I believe it was such a mistake by the present. It sounds to me like she has a slight accent of some type, which shouldn’t be a figuring out issue. If she had spelled it, it will have been proper.”
“100% bull**** on that puzzle. She bought screwed. I do know pronunciations matter however, like…there’s been means worse,” added one other.
Nevertheless, one fan did defend the present, writing, “I’m gonna go in opposition to the grain. Wheel is a present about phrases. You must pronounce the phrases accurately to win.”
Others thought the present made up for the ruling later within the episode by awarding Salonga the Scotland journey puzzle, regardless of sounding like she mentioned “BagBIPES” as an alternative of “Bagpipes.”
“As a lot as I do agree that they dominated accurately on the toss up …. I actually did hear BAGBIPES,” wrote one fan.
What did you consider the African Safari ruling? Did the present do the appropriate factor? Tell us your ideas within the feedback part beneath.
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