Audi surprises ‘Wheel of Fortune’ contestant after technicality controversy
Vroom, vroom!
“Wheel of Fortune” raised eyebrows when contestant Charlene Rubush lost out on a brand new Audi on Tuesday’s episode over a technicality.
Now the German carmaker is stepping in and giving Rubush her well-deserved prize following fan outrage.
“Audi has been in touch with Charlene and will be gifting her the Audi Q3 she narrowly missed on Tuesday’s episode of Wheel of Fortune,” an Audi spokesperson told The Post in a statement.
“In the spirit of the holidays, we are thrilled to gift Charlene with an all-new Audi Q3,” said Audi of America’s chief marketing officer, Tara Rush. “It is the season of giving after all and, technicality or not, we are always eager to share a bit of Audi magic and cheer!”
The episode showed Rubush competing in the bonus round where she attempted to solve a puzzle in the “What Are You Doing” category.
The phrase that she had to guess was “choosing the right word.” While Rubush answered correctly, the show opted not to give her a new Audi Q3 because she took long pauses when she answered.
“You know, this one’s tough, because you said all the right words, including the word ‘word’ but, as you know, it’s gotta be more or less continuous,” host Pat Sajak said during the show.
“We’ll allow for a little pause, but not four or five seconds. I’m sorry. You did a good job in getting it, but we can’t give you the prize, and it was the Audi,” he continued.
Audi tweeted yesterday, “You’re a winner in our eyes, Charlene. Now, let’s get you a prize. Time to #GiveHerTheQ3.” The company was even able to track down Rubush with the help of the Audi community.
Fans weren’t happy with the way that the game show handled the situation.
“@WheelofFortune well we had a good run. I won’t watch the show anymore. That lady won the AUDI, she answered the phrase within the timeframe allowed,” one user wrote on Twitter. “You have hidden rules, fake show. I’ll never watch again (unless she gets the AUDI ANNND the rule changes).”
Another added, “Come on @WheelofFortune, the woman literally chose the right word. Give her the car.”
“Wheel of Fortune, you just lost a viewer,” another penned. ” ‘I am choosing the right word’ to never watch this show again. #WheelofFortune #choosingtherightword I’m done! I’m with that lady. She deserves that Audi! That rule is the most dumbest [sic] thing ever! She had it right before the time was up!”
In one explicit tweet, an outraged fan said, “I don’t give a f–k what the bylaws and rules are, @WheelofFortune just screwed that lady out of a car. She never said anything to interrupt her answer. She said the first 3 words perfectly and waited 5 seconds to say the last word. That’s a f–king win.”
“#WheelofFortune: ‘How can we screw this contestant tonight? Oh s–t, she paused too long.’ I’m once again proven that Wheel of Fortune is the worst game show ever. #teamjeopardy,” another wrote.
The Post reached out to “Wheel of Fortune” for comment.
