'Wheel of Fortune' Fans Want Maggie Sajak to Replace Vanna White
Sajak previously filled in as the letter-turner when her father was ill and White temporarily hosted the show.
Amid Vanna White's fight for better pay at Wheel of Fortune, it is now reported that many fans would like to see her replaced with Maggie Sajak, daughter of host Pat Sajak. According to TV Insider, many Wheel watchers have taken to commenting their opinion on Maggie's Instagram posts, with one writing, "You should be taking over Vanna White's job when Vanna White is ready to retire." Someone else replied, "I totally agree! She would be PERFECT! Love you Maggie."
A third user offered, "I think you should take over as letter turner for Vanna and she should take over for your dad as host!!! You guys would be an awesome team." One last Instagram user commented, "You need to be on Wheel of Fortune. I was so bummed when you weren't selected to take over for your dad. I certainly hope the shows producers are smart enough to have you take over for Vanna."
It was previously reported that White's annual Wheel of Fortune salary is one-fifth of Pat Sajak's, as she makes $3 million a year to his $15 million annual salary. Yahoo! stated that she is threatening to quit unless Sony TV agrees to more than double her pay to $7.5 million. It's also been reported that White has not had a pay raise in nearly two decades.
After Sajak announced his planned retirement, rumors began swirling that White was planning to stay with the show, but that she'd hired Freedman to negotiate a new pay raise. A promising update came when it was announced that Ryan Seacrest would be the new host, making over after Sajak's final season, which will begin later this year. Seacrest wrote a statement about the news, and at the end, he stated, "I can't wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White."
However, Puck's Matthew Belloni soon came forward to report that White and Sony TV still had not come to an agreement on her salary. Per TV Line, there had been rumblings at Sony TV that executives might be considering "eliminating" White's co-host role when Sajak leaves. While Sony TV did not offer any official comment on the reports, TV Line spoke with an unnamed source who alleges that the rumors are inaccurate and that there "is no plan to eliminate Vanna's role." The insider stated, "Sony is in active discussions to renew Vanna's deal beyond her current contract."