Watch as Pat Sajak Calls Out Ungrateful Wheel of Fortune Contestant Then Apologizes

Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak hilariously went off on a contestant during a recent taping. The iconic host later apologized for his outburst. After decades of hosting a gameshow, one can understand the temptation to possibly go off on a contestant, who may come off as “ungrateful.” Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek kept his composure throughout most of his career on camera, but even he got frustrated from time to time, reminding everyone that hosting a gameshow is a job that comes with a lot of work.

In a Wheel of Fortune episode from earlier this week, Pat Sajak appears to lose his patience for one brief moment, only to bring it all back together. The whole issue had to do with contestant Darin McBain successfully solving a puzzle that asked for four objects that begin with the word “kitchen.” The answers included cabinet, oven, towels, and sink. Even though he won, McBain went on to question whether or not “kitchen oven” is something that people actually say in real life.

Pat Sajak looked at Darin McBain for a moment before raising his voice and jokingly calling the contestant “ungrateful.” Sajak is obviously kidding around, but it looks as if he may have been serious when he first heard McBain bring up the argument. McBain ended up in second place by the end of the show, which is when Sajak apologized for raising his voice, while adding in a joke. While the host is playing it off as a joke, some Wheel of Fortune fans seem to be under the impression that he was being serious, and if he wasn’t, many believe he was well within his rights to do so.

Darin McBain’s mother appeared on Wheel of Fortune 30 years ago, but she did not give Pat Sajak a hard time about a puzzle. While there are a lot of people standing by the host, there are also some who are defending McBain’s rights as a contestant to question whether or not “kitchen oven” is a normal every day answer for a puzzle. Regardless, there’s no way the contestant could know that Sajak was going to take offense over the question, even if he was exaggerating.

Pat Sajak has been the Wheel of Fortune host for nearly 40 years, after taking over for Chuck Woolery in 1981. He has earned 19 nominations for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host, winning three times. As of this writing, the 74-year old is contracted to host the show until 2022. From there, the network and Sajak will discuss where to go from there, which could mean that a new host will be on the way. You can check out video of Pat Sajak going off on a contestant above, thanks to Peter Barjarinov’s Twitter account. You can check out the apology video below.