When Ryan Seacrest exited Live with Kelly and Ryan and was later announced as Pat Sajak’s replacement on the 2024 TV schedule as the new Wheel of Fortune host, Kelly Ripa expressed one big concern — Seacrest’s spelling. She brought that up again as he returned to the morning show, taking playful shots at her former co-host, and I’m surprised that she pulled her punch when it came to the easiest target. Wheel Watchers had lots of thoughts last week when the new host of one of the best game shows of all time made what many considered to be his first big flub.
Kelly Ripa Rips On Ryan Seacrest’s Spelling Skills
Ryan Seacrest returned to a pretty familiar set on October 7, when he and sister Meredith Seacrest-Leach were guests on Live with Kelly and Mark. The siblings were there to promote their new children’s book The Make Believers. Kelly Ripa wasted no time in throwing jabs at her longtime friend, joking that it was Seacrest-Leach who had done all the work. The morning show host was also kind (?) enough to ask her former colleague about his new job, as she jested:
So, tell me about Wheel of Fortune now. Have you learned how to spell? We know that’s a problem.
Look at Kelly Ripa, going straight for the jugular! Ryan Seacrest owned up to not being the best when it comes to texting but said “on the puzzles I’m OK.” Ripa didn’t miss a beat, responding:
Because you have the answer in front of you, don’t you?
As candid as the Live star can be, Kelly Ripa didn’t pluck the lowest-hanging fruit on the Ryan Seacrest humiliation tree, because just days earlier he’d committed what many Wheel of Fortune fans considered his first big snafu.
Ryan Seacrest Suffers First Blunder As Wheel Of Fortune Host
While there was plenty of concern that Ryan Seacrest would never be able to fill the shoes of one of the best game show hosts in Pat Sajak, fans were complimentary of his debut. Things have been going well for him and his beloved co-host Vanna White, but there was a little bump in the road when it came to the Bonus Round during the October 4 game. Take a look at what went down:
After Cody correctly guessed “Out Of The Way” as the Phrase he was looking for, Ryan Seacrest failed to immediately acknowledge that the contestant had won. It wasn’t an egregiously long pause, but it was long enough for Vanna White to start clapping and then stop to wait for her co-host’s confirmation, which he did by saying:
Cody? That’s it. Congratulations!
It’s unknown why Ryan Seacrest paused like that. Was he caught off-guard by the contestant’s quick response or waiting for some kind of official confirmation? It might also have been simply for dramatic effect, but I would hope not, because that 10 seconds goes so fast, and Cody needed to know whether or not to keep guessing.
Many fans sounded off on Reddit, with one calling it a “nightmare” for the contestant and many agreeing that it seemed like Ryan Seacrest was just trying to build suspense. We’ll have to see if similar instances continue to happen or if any other signs of Seacrest’s spelling woes become obvious as the new host gets more games under his belt.