Wheel Of Fortune Fans Outraged Over Contestant Winning With Technically Incorrect Answer

By Russ Burlingame - November 22, 2021 08:55 am EST

Thursday's episode of Wheel of Fortune drew fans' ire on social media after contestant Steven Page solved a puzzle with what many say is a technically incorrect answer. The frustration was especially sharp because Page scored $9,000 for solving the puzzle, which was enough to help him beat out fellow contestant Christina Maril so he could advance to the bonus round (and, of course, the added claim that the third contestant, Lisa Volivitch, almost certainly would have taken home that $9,000 if Page hadn't. After all, according to his critics, Page was off only by one letter.

During the final regulation puzzle, Page solved the puzzle "Quality Craftsmanship." He pronounced it without the "S," though, making it sound like "craftmanship" instead. This enraged some fans, while others pointed out that pronunciation could be subjective, and that there is a possibility that he is just as technically correct as technically incorrect.

The show is generally pretty specific about its rules, which made the perceived looseness by the judges seem uncharacteristic. Of course, it's hard to know whether the judges heard something the audience didn't, whether they were going by the British pronunciation, or whether it just slipped past everyone in the moment before being "caught" by fans on Twitter.

Check out some fan responses -- they run the whole gamut, but we'll start with the angry ones, because that's fun -- below.

Holding out for an apology

I don't often weigh in on the sister show, but:#WheelOfFortune is much like #Jeopardy in that the judges are very much able to isolate audio of contestants and ascertain exactly what was said.

If the Wheel judges are satisfied that the contestant said "Craftsmanship", so am I.
— The Jeopardy! Fan (@_thejeopardyfan) November 19, 2021

Expert opinion?

I don't often weigh in on the sister show, but:#WheelOfFortune is much like #Jeopardy in that the judges are very much able to isolate audio of contestants and ascertain exactly what was said.

If the Wheel judges are satisfied that the contestant said "Craftsmanship", so am I.
— The Jeopardy! Fan (@_thejeopardyfan) November 19, 2021

Pronunciation Guide

A check of the pronounciation of Craftsmanship online, yields an example of saying Craftsmanship with a silent "s" by a British speaker. Sometimes you can't hear the "S", sometimes it is simply spoken with a silent "S". In this case, Pat called it right. #WheelOfFortune
— Joel Lanier (@joel_lanier) November 19, 2021

Not even the right category?

@WheelofFortune “Expert craftsmanship” is a thing??? Sounds like an skill to me?
— Daniel Kemling (@DanKemling) January 26, 2018

Swimming?

@WOF How did you let this guy win by not saying the "S" on Craftsmanship by saying Craftmanship, but you didn't on this lady where you said she didn't pronounce the letter "G" on Swimming. https://t.co/6bI6xHmlOt vs https://t.co/0fdFV1ROfn ??? Scared I guess. Is he privileged?
— Jeffrey Cold (@JeffreyCold1) November 20, 2021

Shouldn't have won

The man on Wheel of Fortune today shouldn't have won. The last puzzle he said, "Quality craftmanship. He missed the "s" is craftsmanship. You can hear it if you listen closely. He should have gotten the buzz and the lady beside him should have gotten it.
— Some guy on this site (@SomeGuyOnHere99) November 19, 2021

Why did he win?

@WheelofFortune last night Steven left out the s in craftsmanship. For a show that says the word and is wrong in a crossword puzzle leaving out the s is worse. It’s the wrong word. Exactly why did he win? The other two should be brought back for another shot.
— mark (@mark14337488) November 19, 2021

Lisa was robbed

#WheelOfFortune why was Steven’s response on “Quality Craftsmanship” rules correct tonight?? He said “quality craftmanship”—without the “S”! That’s incorrect! Lisa deserves another $9k, as she would have got that on the next turn.
— Bill V (@BillVerkuilen) November 19, 2021