Skip to Content

This viral ‘Wheel of Fortune’ round has left many viewers in disbelief — see what it’s all about

A recent “Wheel of Fortune” episode has left many fans in amused disbelief and—in some cases—shocked after contestants failed to solve a puzzle after multiple tries.

A clip of the now-viral moment shows a contestant named Laura Machado tasked with solving the puzzle, “An_ther feather _n y_ _ r _ a_.”

She bought the vowel “O,” completing the words “another” and “your.”

Many viewers would think she’d have it in the bag by then, but that wasn’t the case. Machado offered to solve and said, “Another feather in your hat.”

Most people know the idiomatic expression “Another feather in your cap,” which is used to highlight an achievement or success. However, Machado appeared to have never heard of the seemingly common phrase—or maybe it was just the nerves. In fairness, it’s quite different when you’re put on the spot and feel the pressure. 

The buzzer rang, signaling that she got the wrong answer. After losing her first chance to solve the puzzle, the opportunity moved to player Christopher Coleman, who also incorrectly guessed that the puzzle had the letter “G.”

Host Pat Sajak then moved to the third contestant, Thomas Lipscomb, who spun the wheel but landed on “Bankrupt.” The game then circled back to Machado, who once again guessed the wrong answer when she said, “Another feather in your lap.”

Sajak quipped with a joke, “Oh, the feather is moving around.”

It was Coleman’s turn again, and on his second guess, he tried a “D,” but unfortunately, the puzzle didn’t have that letter.

Lipscomb lost his second try as the wheel point ended up on “Lose your turn.” Machado added another letter to the puzzle, a “P,” before attempting to solve it for the third time. However, the additional letter didn’t help.

“Another feather in your map?” she guessed, the incorrect buzzer sounding off again.

Coleman lost his third attempt at the puzzle when he got bankrupt, at which point Lipscomb correctly guessed that the puzzle had a “C” before answering with, “Another feather in your cap.”

“There you go!” Sajak, 75, said. Lipscomb finally solved the puzzle and secured the win. All in all, it took two minutes, eight turns, and 10 attempts before the brutal round came to a close.

The clip of the episode spread like wildfire on social media, where many users expressed their amusement over the moment.

A Twitter user named @WheelRob tweeted: “I’d like to solve… ANOTHER FEATHER IN EVERYTHING BUT YOUR CAP. Thank you, Wheel, for not editing out six of these eight lost turns in a row like you normally would.”

Actor Josh Gad also shared his thoughts on the head-scratching episode.

“God help us all,” he tweeted alongside a video of him giggling while watching the controversial scene.

“A woman on Wheel of Fortune got this puzzle wrong three times. I’m yelling at the television like I’m watching a football game,” said another Twitter user.

However, Sajak was quick to defend the contestants. In a lengthy Twitter thread, he said:

“It always pains me when nice people come on our show to play a game and win some money and maybe fulfill a lifelong dream, and are then subject to online ridicule when they make a mistake or something goes awry.”

He added, “But mocking them online and calling them names? These are good people in a bad situation under a kind of stress that you can’t begin to appreciate from the comfort of your couch.”

Players Coleman and Lipscomb took this chance to tweet their thanks to Sajak.

“Thank you for being an incredible & integral host, Pat!” wrote Coleman. “I appreciate you encouraging others not to throw stones from glass houses.”

Lipscomb also had nothing but good words to say about the host.

“Pat, I was on the show last night and had so much fun. Thanks for being an awesome person on tv and in person!” he said.

Check out the now-viral Wheel of Fortune moment in the video below.

***Did you enjoy our feel-good and positive story? You can help support our site by simply SUBSCRIBING and sharing our stories with your friends and family.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.