Wheel of Fortune tests all kinds of knowledge, some harder than others, but even host Pat Sajak gets stumped here and there. On a recent episode of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum Tatyana Ali solved a puzzle for “Before & After” with the answer being “Eggs Benedict Cumberbatch.” Sajak was forced to admit to not knowing who Cumberbatch was, and the moment went viral.
The recent episode of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune included celebrity chef Curtis Stone and actor Haley Joel Osment along with Tatyana Ali. The three played for charities of their choice, with Osment being the victor and winning nearly $140,000 for Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. Though the moment between Sajak and Ali was the most memorable part of the episode.
After Ali solved the aforementioned "Eggs Benedict Cumberbatch" puzzle, if you didn't catch the moment live, Pat Sajak asked who the star was. The moment became significant after he admitted that he had no idea what was going on with the answer, because he genuinely didn’t know the actor, as he noted (via EW).
I put the onus on her because I didn’t have the answer. So I pretended like I was just saying ‘Tell us. I, of course, know it, but you tell us.’ And that was a little host trick, if you want to know … My apologies, Mr. Cumberbatch. But I spend a lot of time in my basement. I have no idea what's going on.
Pat Sajak recently hit a WOF anniversary milestone and has seen actors go from famous to not-so-much during his years on the game show, but it's still wild he didn't know who Benedict Cumberbatch was, considering he’s an Emmy-award winning actor, with Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations under his belt. Not to mention he’s also in the biggest movie since the pandemic started... (Yes, I'm talking about Spider-Man: No Way Home's box office milestones.)
The longtime host may have been baffled by the Benedict Cumberbatch answer, but he has come across plenty of awkward moments over the years. In a summer 2021 episode, one contestant tried to solve the puzzle without using the letter N, which was very clearly in the answer. Meanwhile a recent episode involved a contestant getting a very nationally known lyric wrong and replacing it with a word that just didn’t make sense, and fans were convinced it was the dumbest wrong answer yet.
This is not the first time a notable celebrity has been used as an answer on Wheel of Fortune either. In an April 2021 episode, Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds came up in the Before & After puzzle as “Saving Private Ryan Reynolds.” The actor took to Instagram Stories to share his response, revealing that his mom now thinks he was in Saving Private Ryan and he never corrected her.
Meanwhile, Pat Sajak is not the only one is making apologies. Following the mix-up, the Wheel of Fortune Twitter account made sure to tweet an apology, even including a crying laughing emoji.
Our apologies, Benedict Cumberbatch! 😂 #CelebrityWheelOfFortuneJanuary 24, 2022
While many people in the comments of the post were surprised he didn’t know who Cumberbatch was, others were sympathetic towards him since they also weren’t sure themselves. It just goes to show that no matter how big a celebrity may be, not everyone is paying attention.
Even though Benedict Cumberbatch is plenty busy already, especially since he’s rumored to appear in the upcoming Dungeons and Dragons movie, maybe he can take a break and try his hand at Celebrity Wheel of Fortune? Since he isn’t on social media, it’s unknown what Cumberbatch thinks of Pat Sajak now or his and the show’s apology, but hopefully if he heard about the moment, it was an amusing one for the Marvel star.
Although Pat Sajak may be in the twilight of his career, you can still watch him for now on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune on Sundays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC! Check out CinemaBlend’s 2022 winter and spring TV schedule to see what else to look forward to.
