Outcry after ‘Wheel of Fortune’ player loses car on technicality — then Audi steps in

After making it all the way to the final bonus round on ”Wheel of Fortune” and correctly guessing the puzzle just in the nick of time, an unlucky contestant received some bad news from host Pat Sajak: She would not be getting the prize.

The contestant, named Charlene, lost on a technicality, Sajak explained on the Dec. 21 episode.

Charlene had 15 out of 20 letters on the board with 10 seconds on the clock. “Choosing the right card?” she said, then guessed “choosing the right word.”

It was the correct answer, but the buzzer still sounded. Why? She paused too long between “choosing the right” and “word,” Sajak said.

“You know, this one’s tough because you said all the right words, including the word ‘word,’ but as you know, it’s got to be more or less continuous. We’ll allow for a little pause, but not four or five seconds,” Sajak said.

“I’m sorry, you did a good job … but we can’t give you the prize. And it was the Audi,” he said, opening a golden prize placard that read “AUDI Q3.”

The outcry came swiftly, with many fans of the game show — including All-Star ”Jeopardy!” player Alex Jacob — taking to Twitter to express their anger on behalf of Charlene, demanding she be given the prize.

“I understand rules are rules but this seems like a particularly dumb rule,” Jacob tweeted. “C’mon Wheel, it’s Christmas.”

The outpouring of support for Charlene caught the attention of Audi. The following day, the luxury car company vowed to right this wrong and give Charlene the Q3.

“You’re a winner in our eyes, Charlene,” the company tweeted. “Now, let’s get you a prize.”

In the most recent tweet, Audi said they managed to find Charlene.

“More to come as we help #GiveHerTheQ3.”

This story was originally published December 23, 2021 at 11:11 AM with the headline "Outcry after ‘Wheel of Fortune’ player loses car on technicality — then Audi steps in."