Ryan Seacrest got more than he bargained for on the Jan. 21 episode of Wheel of Fortune after a contestant got a little too excited and knocked the veteran host over.
It all started when contestant Daniel Thomas chose the category “living things” during the bonus round and correctly guessed the word “guppies” as the answer despite only having “G,” “E,” and “S” on the board.
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Thomas jumped up and down in excitement and rushed over to hug Seacrest, but in the commotion, Seacrest lost his balance and took a tumble.
Initially, Thomas didn’t notice, but as Seacrest was splayed out on the floor, the contestant turned around and exclaimed, “Oh my gosh!” and proceeded to help the American Idol host back on his feet.
“I’m good! I’m good!” said Seacrest before revealing that Thomas had just won an additional $40,000 on top of his initial winnings of $31,950 and a trip to Alaska.
After announcer Jim Thornton joked, “Daniel, easy on our host, but celebrate with $40,000!” Thomas turned to Seacrest and asked “I’m so sorry, did I make you fall?!”
Seacrest took it all in stride, pretending to back away from Thomas in fear before announcing the contestant’s total winnings and throwing his arms around Thomas in celebration. “Congratulations, that’s amazing!” said Seacrest.
He later joked about the incident while speaking directly to the camera, “Pick me up, throw me over, tackle me, I’m totally fine with it,” Seacrest teased.
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The show’s social media team had a field day with the interaction, sharing a clip of the moment on Instagram with the caption “Bookmarking this video for when we see an influx of people tackling Ryan in the show…”
Fans were quick to jump into the comments to both make sure that Seacrest was OK, and to get in some playful ribbing. “A little wheel of fortune hulk smash today 😂,” joked one fan, while another said, “Pickup and Drop-off.”
“Ryan got body slammed is this Wheel of Fortune or the WWE,” teased a commenter, and more shared the sentiment, writing, “Who needs @wwe when you have WOF? 😂.”
Even fellow game show Jeopardy! got in on the fun, commenting, “We’re glad Ryan is okay 😆💙.”
Next: Ryan Seacrest Makes Vulnerable Admission About Hosting ‘Wheel of Fortune’
