In 2014, Julian Batts appeared as Wheel of Fortune contestant during College Week. An 18-year-old freshman at college, he stood under the studio lights and spun the wheel. Seconds ticked by, the wheel slows down and stops on top of a tiny sliver wedge. Not any wedge, mind you. The ONE MILLION DOLLAR WEDGE, squeezed in either side of the notorious BANKRUPT wedge.
All he had to do was guess a letter. He chose the letter ‘L’. Yes. There are 4 L’s. He continued solving the puzzle until every letter had been turned. But he hadn’t won yet. No. All he had to do to be in the running to win the One Million Dollars was to solve the puzzle. Remember, every letter had been revealed.
Three words, and he wins a million dollars. This is life-changing for anyone, especially a freshman in college who would have student loans to pay off in four years.
He opens his mouth and says, “Mythological Hero A-chill-us”. The buzzer sounds, and they move on to the next contestant to solve the puzzle with the correct pronunciation of Achilles.
Needless to say, Julian’s face dropped, and he was devastated.
“Let’s just wipe this from our memory banks and move on” Pat Sajak, Host.
Second gaffe for this Wheel of Fortune Contestant
A round later, Julian lands on both halves of a number plate, giving him the opportunity to win a car.
The puzzle revealed is “The World’s Fastest _A_”. Julian asks for a ‘C’. There are no c’s. The next contestant solves “The World’s Fastest Man” for the win.
And if those weren’t bad enough, he later tried to solve “On The Spot Decision” by saying “On The Spot Dice Spin”.
Despite all these mistakes, Julian still won the show. Because, let’s face it, he put up all the money and handed the solving to the woman on his left who may have solved the puzzle but hadn’t walked away with all the cash. So, while some may say he was unlucky, he still walked away with over $11,000.
Studio Lights and No Time To Think
In a recent interview with Drew Barrymore, Julian described what it was like being on the show. He said he went back to his hotel after filming and sat on his bed and asked himself “what was that?”. He went on to say he just didn’t have a moment to process his thoughts and collect himself. Under the studio lights, on live TV, the pressure would definitely be on.
“I didn’t have a lot of time to really process,” he said in another interview. “You have to stay positive. You have to keep the game going. And you can’t let one buzzer discourage your performance for the rest of the game.”
Check out his interview with Drew – she really got it and gave him an opportunity to win again! Hilarious!
Nicknames That Stick
Julian said he saw that people were calling him the world’s worst Wheel of Fortune player and was crushed. An 18-year-old who’s leaving home for the first time to attend college; learning how to fend for themselves and make big life decisions is not a cake walk. To be experiencing all that and then appear on a beloved game show, the pressure would be immense. You can tell by Julian’s face in the video that he was dumbfounded.
Life Went On
Life went on for Julian, and if not for the resurgence of the video, he might have gone on with his life, unknown.
In 2017, he won the Kate Hevner Mueller Outstanding Senior Award at his Indiana college and currently, he’s a Disney content creator and business account manager for a company that helps residential communities thrive.
Not the Only One
Julian isn’t the only contestant to learn pronunciation matters.
This woman was in the final game to win the major prize when she started rattling off her answers. We swear she already said PINK ORCHID (and so does the rest of the internet) although host Pat Sajak again dismisses her answer. Watch the video here hole thing unfold and tell us if you think this Wheel of Fortune Contestant was cheated out of $40K!
But wait, there’s more!
In 2012, contestant Renee Durette lost almost $4000 by not pronouncing the ‘G’ in ‘Seven Swan a Swimming’. Later she said, “That’s kind of how I speak, you know, being from Florida and I asked for the ‘g’ so I knew it was there.”
In 2013, Oregon firefighter Paul Atkinson landed on the million-dollar wedge and attempted to solve. The puzzle was “Corner Curio Cabinet”. When Paul spoke, it sounded like he said “corno curo cabnet”. Host Pat Sayjak said they would take a look to make sure Paul was being treated fairly, but ultimately, he was wrong, and the next contestant solved for $1000.
In January of this year, Shauna Williams went viral for pronouncing “Congenial Company & Clever Conversation” with what sounded like “Conjutal Company & Clever Conversation”.
Wheel of Fortune reps told ABC News at the time of Julian’s loss that contestants must solve the puzzle using the accepted pronunciation in order to win.
Do you think you could take the pressure of spinning a 1,100 kg (approximately) wheel under the hot glow of studio lights with a split second to answer a puzzle? I don’t think I could. And I’m the family member people won’t play Trivial Pursuit with because I have so many random facts in my head.
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