‘Fire Pat Sajak!’ Media Tries to Create a Controversy – Opinion

A tasteless, misogynistic and offensive joke Pat Sajak shared during an episode of Wheel of Fortune has shocked people all over the country.

Please go to your safe place, grab your bear and call your therapist in case you are traumatized by the video.

WARNING! CONTENT BELOW MAY BE DEEPLY OFFENSIVE. DISCRETE!

Are you a seasoned professional? @patsajak?! pic.twitter.com/KvcOMKDsLN

— Joe D’Angelo (@joe_dangelo) April 13, 2022

If you’re still readg this, it means you weren’t too traumatized to continue. Congrats.

In sum, Sajak asked Vanna White if she was an opera buff, she said no, and he shot back with “have you ever watched opera in the buff?” It was a silly retort, a quick play on words. The show has been hosted by him since its inception. 41 years, His wry sense humor is what made him famous. Johnny Carson could have made a comment like that. He would make jokes like these, and nobody complained.

Naturally, a few Twitter users weighed in on Sajak’s ad-lib, with some calling for his firing.

This is what I felt like seeing. #metooMoment on @WheelofFortune ?

— shelley ripley (@shelleymac911) April 14, 2022

@patsajakYou are not allowed to ask Vanna if she has seen opera in the buff. Which century are you living in ?!?!??!

— HyeBadveli (@HBadveli) April 13, 2022

Vanna’s inability to just smile and bear Pat’s “metoo” comments makes me feel terrible. Although he thinks that he is funny, it’s completely inappropriate. This is what children see when they watch the show. This man must be taken out immediately.

— Donna Hunter (@DonnaHu60651001) April 14, 2022

Despite these examples, it’s actually Media that’s really fired up, not so much the viewers. Many outlets are claiming that viewers were “outraged,” “appalled,” “stunned,” yet almost every article uses the same four tweets shown above as evidence. A Twitter search does not actually produce a deluge of outrage — in fact, I found more people in support of Sajak than against.

Here are some examples of headlines

• MSN: Pat Sajak’s comment leaves ‘Wheel of Fortune’ fans stunned: ‘You have lost your filter’
• New York Post: ‘Wheel of Fortune’ fans shocked by Pat Sajak’s ‘#MeToo moment’ with Vanna White
• The Sun: ‘SHAME ON HIM!’ Wheel of Fortune fans appalled by host Pat Sajak’s ‘absolutely inappropriate’ question to Vanna White
• Decider: ‘Wheel Of Fortune’: Pat Sajak’s Wildly Inappropriate “Opera In The Buff” Banter Rattles Vanna White
• Outkick: PAT SAJAK’S DUMB ‘BUFF’ JOKE TO VANNA WHITE HAS #METOO MOVEMENT FIRED UP

Daily Mail stated in its report:

…the audience reacted loudly, with some laughter but many audible groans. White answered with a firm no, her tone seeming to indicate that it was an impertinent question — but she quickly recovered with a smile and laughed it off.

That’s not what I saw. If you watch the clip slowed down by 1,000 percent, you may be able to spot a nanosecond’s display of displeasure on Vanna White’s face. I couldn’t, but maybe you can. Didn’t see the “firm no” either. Instead, I was able to see Vanna laugh, continue the funny jokes, and end the show with her always smiling face. It’s certainly possible she was annoyed, but the only way to know for sure is to hear it from her.

I also didn’t hear “audible groans,” did you? A sort of halfhearted ripple was what I heard. The joke wasn’t especially funny, so of course there wasn’t huge laughter.

To be honest, I was expecting to take out all of the sensitive Twitterati who were offended even the slightest bit. It would have been great.

Instead, I found that the controversy was mostly created by media and not many people are actually offended. It was just a play on words — and nothing more. Cancel Culture is real and destructive and should be ended.  Most of the news agencies I listed above are reliable and can shape the narrative. Part of our responsibility in media includes not endorsing clickbait headlines when the evidence doesn’t back it up.

There will continue to be many real Cancel Culture episodes in our future, so journalists hardly need to drum one up when the evidence just isn’t there. Pat Sajak isn’t going anywhere, at least not unless he buys Twitter.

Sold a bunch of vowels I’d been stockpiling. Would be willing to part with @elonmuskIt would be great if you had more money.

— Pat Sajak (@patsajak) April 14, 2022