Just one week after chiding "Wheel of Fortune" viewers for ridiculing contestants who couldn't solve an easy puzzle, host Pat Sajak is being labeled a hypocrite for seemingly throwing shade at a player over a pretty traumatic childhood story.
On March 9, the longtime host introduced Scott Ingwersen to the audience by wondering, "Why am I mentioning this? It's on your card. You had your big toe chopped off. Why are you telling this?"
Scott good-naturedly explained: "It's important to know that when I was 12 years old, I was riding a 10-speed bike with flip-flops, and I fell and completely cut off the top of my toe. The next car that came by were two paramedics that were on their way to their job, and they said, 'It's just a laceration.' But I didn't know what that was, so it freaked me out even more. And my toe is reattached, and I just wanna say 'thank you' to them 30 years later."
As the audience began applauding, Pat seemed bewildered and unimpressed.
"That may have been the most pointless story ever told," he said. "And you told it, Scott. Congratulations to you."
Twitter immediately scolded Pat and demanded he apologize (he was also called many words not fit for print.)
"Poor Scott just wanted to tell his story. Pat just throwing the shade," one fan tweeted. Another said, "When did #Patsajak get so cold-blooded?"
The on-air drama comes just a few days after Pat told viewers to "have a little heart" when defending three contestants who couldn't figure out a fairly easy puzzle for over two minutes.
"It always pains me when nice people come on our show to play a game and win some money and maybe fulfill a lifelong dream, and are then subject to online ridicule when they make a mistake or something goes awry," he tweeted last week.
Of course, fans felt that Pat should heed his own advice.
"So @patsajak got on his @WheelofFortune high horse a week ago & lectured everyone to be nice to contestants who couldn't solve an easy puzzle, but tonight he had no problem belittling and insulting a contestant who told their intro story. Scott needs an apology. #WheelOfFortune," one "Wheel" fan tweeted.