Wheel of Fortune contestant blasted for bizarre celebration after controversial win

Wheel of Fortune viewers dubbed one player as the ‘most annoying contestant ever’ after his bizarre behavior and yelling celebrations left many frustrated on Monday evening.

The episode saw P.J Wilder, a house husband from Hanford, California, was the latest contestant to try and win big on the popular game show.

Wilder already stood out thanks to his tall stature and a distinctive mustache, which he told host Ryan Seacrest was inspired by Hercule Poirot – the fictional detective from Agatha Christie’s famed novels.

Throughout the episode, Wilder yelled in celebration when getting guesses correct, while he was equally vocal in agitation when he made mistakes.

Viewers noted that the other players appeared to be visibly annoyed by his antics as time went on.

Meanwhile, fans were even less impressed when his Speed Up puzzle guess was allowed to count even though Wilder had paused between the last words just as the buzzer sounded.

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Wheel of Fortune viewers dubbed one player as the ‘most annoying contestant ever’ after his bizarre behavior and yelling celebrations left many frustrated on Monday evening

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The episode saw P.J Wilder, a house husband from Hanford, California , was the latest contestant to try and win big on the popular game show

After Wilder loudly pleaded for the judges to count his answer, he yelled in delight when the decision went his way – stating ‘Let’s f**king go!’

Then it was time for the Bonus Round which saw the contestant correctly guess the What Are You Wearing puzzle, with the answer being Zip-Up Hoodie.

For his troubles, Wilder snagged himself a Mini Cooper S Signature Convertible worth $41,200.

In total, he walked away from the show with a total of $74,860 in cash and prizes.

The ecstatic player yelled in delight once again and asked host Seacrest to pinch him.

He then ran towards his new car and hopped in before proceeding to honk the horn several times.

Wilder’s enthusiastic celebrations immediately became a hot topic on Reddit as one viewer asked in a thread: ‘Anyone else think this guy PJ is the most annoying contestant ever?’

Another replied: ‘I literally came here to express the same sentiment. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a contestant that irritated me so much.’

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Wilder already stood out thanks to his tall stature and a distinctive mustache, which he told host Ryan Seacrest was inspired by Hercule Poirot

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View gallery

Throughout the episode, Wilder yelled in celebration when getting guesses correct, while he was equally vocal in agitation when he made mistakes

+6
View gallery

For his troubles, Wilder snagged himself a Mini Cooper S Signature Convertible worth $41,200 and walked away from the show with a total of $74,860 in cash and prizes

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View gallery

The ecstatic player yelled in delight once again and asked host Seacrest to pinch him

‘I’ve never felt so uncomfortable watching an episode of Wheel of Fortune,’ a third commented.

A fourth agreed: ‘I think he was way over the top. Making gestures that were uncalled for. And I felt so bad for the other contestants.’

A fifth Reddit user noted: ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen a contest look as visibly annoyed at another contestant as Caitlin did while the judges were checking PJ’s answer and he was screaming “Count it! Count it!” I can’t say I blame her one bit though.’

A sixth noted: ‘I try to be nice about the contestants, lord knows I’d like to be one someday, but even I was fed-up with his obnoxiousness by the end of the show.’

‘All I had to see was the combination of his haircut and the mustache to know that everything PJ does is for attention,’ a seventh viewer added. ‘I was really annoyed by the stupid hand under the chin thing he was doing at the end.’

Another viewer noted: ‘Came on here to see if anyone else would mention about this. Wow he was unbearable to watch especially when he kept cutting Ryan off.

‘Notice how his wife just stood there on the side? So awkward.’

Comments on YouTube revealed similar feelings as one person commented: ‘The most annoying contestant I’ve ever seen.

‘He never even looked at his poor wife standing there. He hesitated and then said the last word after the buzzer.’

Wilder’s enthusiastic celebrations immediately became a hot topic on Reddit

Another wrote: ‘Toxic main character energy. So disrespectful to his wife. ‘Stay at home dad’ is bro code for…[poo emoji]. We all Felt sorry for Vanna, the judges, and the two other contestants.

‘That is one very weird and annoying guy. This man made this episode a bit painful to watch in my opinion,’ one YouTube viewer commented. ‘I like energy in the shows but this came across more so distracting and obnoxious.’

Meanwhile some viewers found the contestant amusing as one person wrote: ‘You’re a hell of a character, PJ, and I’m glad you’re walking away with an awesome car. Congratulations!’

Another added: ‘I liked how he jogged to the Mini Cooper and pressed on the honk lol. This is pure amazing.’

Wheel of Fortune averaged 7.99 million viewers during new host Seacrest’s first month, and during that time, the show was ‘the most-watched entertainment series across broadcast, cable, and syndication,’ according to Nielsen data per Newsweek.

In January, it was revealed that the show only saw a slight drop in audience numbers by the end of 2024.

Per The Los Angeles Times, Nielsen data showed WoF earning an average of 7.9 million viewers through December 1, 2024 – which was an increase of three percent from the prior year.

However, the most recent Nielsen figures reveal that rival game show Jeopardy! has managed to top the viewing charts in late January.

The show saw 8,430,000 people tuned in, according to The U.S. Sun, while Wof brought in 8,111,000 viewers.