There was a silver lining through the storm of outrage after Wheel of Fortune contestant Charlene Rubush lost a new car due to a technicality.
Rubush made it to the bonus round to guess a phrase from the category "what are you doing?"
With only three missing letters in the phrase, Rubush first incorrectly guessed "choosing the right card", but then, just ahead of the buzzer, she was able to guess the correct phrase "choosing the right word".
However, her victory proved to be short-lived.
Despite literally "choosing the right word", she allowed seven seconds to elapse between her two guesses, thus disqualifying her, as host Pat Sajak explained.
"This one’s tough because you said all the right words, including the word ‘word’ but as you know, it’s got to be more or less continuous."
"We’ll allow for a little pause but not four or five seconds."
Adding insult to injury was the prize Rubush was deprived of was a brand new Audi Q3.
Former Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions winner Alex Jacob was outraged by Wheel of Fortune's ruling, openly expressing his anger on Twitter.Come on @WheelofFortune, the woman literally chose the right word. Give her the car.pic.twitter.com/aAaMyFeEZl— Alex Jacob (@Alex Jacob) 1640139943
Jacob wasn't the only one infuriated by the game show's decision.
Twitter blew up with outraged fans, with some even threatening to boycott the show.
This is like saying \u201cThe Raiders would have won the game if they snapped the ball before the play clock hit zero\u201dhttps://ew.com/tv/wheel-of-fortune-contestant-audi-pat-sajak-car/\u00a0\u2026— Beez2.0 (@Beez2.0) 1640477866
Wheel of Fortune, you just lost a viewer. "I am choosing the right word" to never watch this show again. #WheelofFortune #choosingtherightword \nI'm done! I'm with that lady. She deserves that Audi! That rule is the most dumbest thing ever! She had it right before the time was up!pic.twitter.com/cwJGhXBaYq— TalinOrfaliGhazarian (@TalinOrfaliGhazarian) 1640135168
most of the time twitter is a mistake, but sometimes it's good - like when I can commiserate with other people about how wheel of fortune totally robbed that lady of an audi tonight— Meagan \ud83d\udc9a (masked and vaxxed) (@Meagan \ud83d\udc9a (masked and vaxxed)) 1640140485
Charlene deserves that Audi! That is the dumbest technicality ever. @Audi make this right for Christmas!!— Lauralee M (@Lauralee M) 1640170650
they cheating that lady out of her audi on wheel of fortune bc she very much guessed it in time \u2026— azu \u2661 happy birthday levi mwa (@azu \u2661 happy birthday levi mwa) 1640132818
Audi apparently agreed with Wheel of Fortune 's outraged fans, expressing their desire to reward Rubush with the car they believed she rightfully won.
You're a winner in our eyes, Charlene. Now, let's get you a prize. Time to #GiveHerTheQ3.https://twitter.com/whoisalexjacob/status/1473479836618403844\u00a0\u2026— Audi USA (@Audi USA) 1640211741
And indeed, Audi later tweeted thanks to a little help from their Twitter followers, they were able to track down Rubush and give her the good news.
There's no community like the Audi community. With your help, we tracked down Charlene!\n\nMore to come as we help #GiveHerTheQ3.https://twitter.com/Audi/status/1473780980192325644\u00a0\u2026— Audi USA (@Audi USA) 1640232782
A representative for Audi also confirmed Rubush would indeed be getting the car as a Christmas present in a statement to Newsweek.
"[We] saw Charlene's Wheel of Fortune episode on Monday and were collectively disappointed that she missed out on the opportunity to take home an Audi Q3 due to a technicality. "
"So in the spirit of the holidays, Audi of America will be gifting her with an all-new Audi Q3."
Rubush's supporters were overjoyed by Audi's generosity in giving her the car.
Audi Comes To The Rescue Of \u2018Wheel Of Fortune\u2019 In Their Crisis Situation https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsegal/2021/12/25/audi-comes-to-the-rescue-of-wheel-of-fortune-in-their-crisis-situation/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/1fq7kGnWTP— LeaderWithin (@LeaderWithin) 1640460843
Wheel Of Fortune Fans Inspired Amazing Response From Audi After Complaints About Long Pause Rulinghttps://www.cinemablend.com/television/wheel-of-fortune-fans-inspired-amazing-response-from-audi-after-complaints-about-long-pause-ruling\u00a0\u2026— Don (@Don) 1640457364
Nice job \u2066@Audi\u2069!!https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/wheel-of-fortune-audi-car-losing-contestant/\u00a0\u2026— Nina (@Nina) 1640472949
I have learned that @Audi gave her the car, which is awesome. Still, come ON @WheelofFortune. What\u2019s the purpose of that rule?!— Mandy Powers Norrell (@Mandy Powers Norrell) 1640616858
My grandmother watched @WheelofFortune everyday and she would have been appalled at this. @Audi may well have done this for the good attention and I\u2019m going to give them more because they deserve it. They did the right thing. Thanks @Audi!https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/23/entertainment/wheel-of-fortune-car-cec/index.html\u00a0\u2026— Brian Mason (@Brian Mason) 1640566101
If you know my love for @Audi and @WheelofFortune this warms my Christmas spirit right up https://twitter.com/cbsnews/status/1474530331176878086\u00a0\u2026— Kari (@Kari) 1640442955
Great job @Audi this was the right move. Congrats to the winner and Audi, shame on you @WheelofFortune— Sid A (@Sid A) 1640217247
Frustrating as the experience must have been for Rubush in the moment, one imagines she'll soon forget the whole thing behind the wheel of her brand new Audi Q3.
