'Wheel of Fortune' contestant reacts to being publicly mocked for guess: 'A hard moment... on national TV'
In a recent episode of "Wheel of Fortune," viewers were perplexed by a contestant's bizarre response to a triple toss-up puzzle, with social media users quickly dubbing it the "worst guess ever," and many wondering what exactly the player meant.
Player Gishma Tabari spoke with Fox News Digital about her viral guess in a show biz category, admitting that saying something "stupid" was of major concern.
"The funny part was, right before I went on, I went to my husband, Saman, and I was like … ‘My fear is that I’m gonna go on the show and I'm gonna say or do something stupid that everyone's gonna laugh,'" she told Fox News Digital.
"That's exactly what happened."
'WHEEL OF FORTUNE' CONTESTANT MOCKED FOR THE 'WORST GUESS EVER'
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During the segment, letters were revealed one by one, until "TH- -RITI-S_-GR-E," appeared on the screen. Tabari quickly guessed, "The British Ogre," much to the bemusement of fans online.
"I think it was just from my imagination," she explained of its origin story. "From the moment I was up there, and I saw the board, that's what I saw. Now I look at it and I'm like… it doesn't make sense."
After the flub, Tabari says she knew she had given an incorrect answer, but was taken aback by host Pat Sajak asking her to "say it again." After she reiterated the same guess, Sajak seemed amused, saying, "Uh, no." The answer he was looking for was "The Critics Agree." Tabari remembers thinking, "Why did I say it again?"
The New York native is a longtime viewer of "Wheel of Fortune," having watched the game show since she was 5.
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The answer and Tabari quickly garnered attention on social media, some of which was mockery. Tabari says she learned she had become a topic of conversation after her friends started sending her things from social media.
"I saw my picture and I was like, 'Oh my God. That's me.'"
Tabari says her stomach was "in knots," when she realized people were talking about her mistake, but soon began laughing at herself.
"There were some hurtful comments… but honestly, I wasn't upset by it…. People don't know who I am in general. I have a degree, I'm working… I feel like I just had a hard moment that was on national TV," she remarked. She joked that she even thinks of "The British Ogre" as a person now.
"If I could redo it, the only thing I would do is just have more fun and be less anxious," she told Fox News Digital.
Tabari also noted that a majority of the comments she received were positive.
Despite the online commotion, she accomplished what she set out to do: win money! Raking in a cash prize, Tabari also won a cruise. She and her husband, who celebrated their two-month wedding anniversary on the day of taping, plan to enjoy that Disney cruise to the Bahamas as their honeymoon.