Kelly Ripa threw a jab at Ryan Seacrest when he came to visit Live With Kelly and Mark recently. The shocking comment came after Ryan made an error on Wheel of Fortune for the first time in his first season as host.
“So, tell me about Wheel of Fortune now. Have you learned how to spell?” Kelly, 54, asked Ryan, 49, who was joined by his sister, Meredith Seacrest, during the Monday, October 7, appearance.
“I don’t text well. She knows that,” Ryan said in response to the dig. “But on the puzzles, I’m OK. I kind of know where we’re going with the puzzles.”
“Because you have the answer in front of you, don’t you?” Kelly asked, to which Ryan responded, “Either in my head or in front of me. I mean, it’s somewhere.”
Ryan and Kelly have a very playful relationship, as they have been friends for many years. The duo cohosted Live With Kelly and Ryan before he marked his final episode of the show in April 2023. He made his debut as Wheel of Fortune cohost in season 42 in September after Pat Sajak retired from hosting the show.
Fans at home pointed out the error Ryan made on Wheel of Fortune during the October 4 episode of the show. As contestant Cody Hunger played the bonus round in the BetMGM Big Winners Tournament, he attempted to solve a four-word puzzle in the hopes of winning $94,900. Time was winding down when he guessed “out of the way.”
However, Ryan met the answer with a few moments of silence and did not immediately confirm if the phrase was correct. It was a bit awkward for those watching at home. Finally, Vanna White seemed to have a joyful reaction to the answer, clapping and smiling, signaling that it was correct. Ryan eventually said, “Cody? That’s it.”
“You got it! Congratulations,” Ryan said as confetti fell down on the stage. Cody was very clearly relieved once he found out that the phrase was guessed correctly.
Still, Ryan has been pretty solid in his first season as Wheel of Fortune host so far. His first week as host saw a major ratings boost and millions of viewers tuning in to see the iconic game show kick off its new era.
“Ryan’s walking around with a huge swagger after his ratings success on Wheel of Fortune, now he’s talking about implementing changes to ‘improve’ the flow of the show,” an insider told Closer on October 4. “He’s giving people more responsibility, and the fear is it puts Vanna in more peril even if she doesn’t realize it. They both play nice but make no mistake he’s the one getting all the credit here.”
“The incredible numbers speak for themselves,” the source added. “If he wants to bring a younger, more modern hostess he probably can do that even if Vanna has done a deal. The pressure is on to keep the numbers up and what Ryan’s brilliant at is flogging people around him to do his bidding.”
