‘Wheel of Fortune’ Contestant Explains Viral ‘Feather in Your Cap’ Flub

Wheel of Fortune contestant Christopher Coleman has finally spoken out and explained the situation behind his viral “Feather in Your Cap” flub. Speaking to TMZ, Coleman said, “This idiom [‘Another feather in your cap,’] is something I learned when I was 6 or 7 years old. But I haven’t heard it in over 30 years and so it has been a while for me.”

He continued, “You are also under a lot of scrutiny and pressure when you’re in production. A lot of people are sitting at home on the comfort of their own couch, yelling and screaming at the TV, when we [the contestants] are the ones in the moment and in real-time, trying to guess and figure out what this puzzle is.” Coleman added, “You go up there. Half of you don’t even have public speaking skills. You go on Wheel of Fortune and go into the shoes of where we were standing. And then it will be a whole another conversation when they are trending and making donkeys of themselves.”

During a recent episode of the hit game show, Coleman and his two fellow contestants had trouble guessing the clue “Another Feather in Your Cap.” The round went on for several minutes, with one of the other contestants eventually solving the puzzle. Following the episode, a clip from the round went viral and led to a lot of comments and jokes on social media.

Coleman addressed the online ridicule by urging social media users to not be so critical. “Just go easy on me and the other contestants because we are very educated people and we don’t want to be put in a situation where we are being cackled and publicly humiliated on a show that was a lifelong dream,” Coleman said. He then added that people “should have more empathy and a little more grace and understanding.”

Notably, Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak has come to the contestant’s defense, taking to Twitter himself to lambast the criticism. “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,” Sajak began his tweet thread. He later added, “I have fun with players and I tease them occasionally, but when things go wrong, I feel for them, and I try to salve the wounds on camera and off. So, yeah, it was an oddly entertaining puzzle and it’s okay to laugh at the situation. But have a little heart.” Sajak’s complete statement can be read here.