Fans were thrilled when Wheel of Fortune brought back a memorable contestant for a chance at redemption after his infamous viral moment.
In May, Tavaris Williams became an internet sensation (and left former host Pat Sajak nearly speechless) when he hilariously guessed “butt rite” while trying to solve a puzzle.
Now, the show gave Tavaris another chance on Wednesday, pairing him with Sajak’s daughter, Maggie Sajak, for a special round of games in association with BetMGM.
This time, Tavaris redeemed himself with ease, flawlessly solving all of Maggie’s Wheel of Fortune puzzles.
‘Everyone gets a second chance with @BetMGM!’ The Instagram video was captioned. ‘Tavaris made a splash with his response in our first week of BetMGM @WheelOfFortune, but he didn’t secure the W. So we brought him back for Round 2 with @maggiesajak! Here is REDEMPTION!’
Fans were thrilled when Wheel of Fortune brought back a memorable contestant for a chance at redemption after his infamous viral moment.
In May, Tavaris Williams became an internet sensation and left former host Pat Sajak nearly speechless when he hilariously guessed “butt rite” while trying to solve a puzzle.
Fans flooded the comments section, excited to see their favorite viral contestant make a triumphant return.
‘We love Tavaris,’ one excited follower shared, while another commented: ‘This moment will outlive us all!’ My great-great-grandchildren will know about Tavaris.
‘I can’t see anything but ‘RITE IN THE BUTT’. Tavaris is the best,” another viewer joked.
Just days after Tavaris’ unforgettable mistake, he revealed Pat Sajak’s off-camera reaction to the mishap.
“It made me feel really good during the break,” Tavaris said on Jimmy Kimmel’s show.
“He said, ‘You know, we’ll find a discreet way to edit it. “I don’t know how, but we will do it.”
Tavaris said he filmed the episode in April and admitted he told his wife about the moment he got home.
“I told my wife right after, ‘I’ll keep everything a secret except this: This is what you need to know,'” he recalled.
Now, the show gave Tavaris another chance on Wednesday, pairing him with Sajak’s daughter, Maggie Sajak, for a special round of games in association with BetMGM.
Fans flooded the comments section, excited to see their favorite viral contestant make a triumphant return.
He told his wife they “could edit” the moment, but he wasn’t sure.
“And then it was out of sight, out of mind until the world reminded me of what I said,” Tavaris said.
Jimmy then jokingly asked the Wheel contestant if “right in the butt” was a phrase he used frequently.
“I’ve never used those words in sequential order on a day in my life, Jimmy,” the contestant responded with a straight face.
Tavaris won $9,500 on the show and said that now: ‘Spreading many smiles around the world.’
The May 23 episode of the long-running game show featured Tavaris, who entered to venture to guess a ‘phrase’ riddle.
This was during a first round of $1,000 drawing, where random letters appear and contestants must enter to solve the puzzle.
The letters shown were I in the second word, T and E in the third, and B, T, and an exclamation point in the fourth.
Tavaris called and guessed, “Right in the butt,” causing the audience to gasp and laugh, while another contestant exclaimed, “What?”
His eyes widened as he hung up the bell, while others in the audience continued to laugh, particularly because “correct” has five letters and the first word in the puzzle has only four letters.
Fortunately, another contestant, Blake, gave the correct answer: “This is the best.”
Tavaris clapped his hands and turned to Blake and joked, “Much better answer,” as the game continued.
When it came time for Pat to introduce the players, he was still laughing at Tavaris’ bawdy response.
Just days after Tavaris’ unforgettable mistake, he revealed Pat Sajak’s off-camera reaction to the mishap; “It made me feel really good about that at halftime,” Tavaris said on Jimmy Kimmel’s show.
Tavaris called and guessed, “Right in the butt,” causing the audience to gasp and laugh, while another contestant exclaimed, “What?”
“He said, ‘You know, we’ll find a discreet way to edit it. I don’t know how, but we will,” Tavaris said of host Pat Sajak; (pictured in 2023)
“Well, Tavaris, you’ve already impressed us,” Pat said, as the contestant apologized.
‘I apologize, Pat. I was a little excited,” Tavaris said as the longtime host added, “We’ll find a way to tastefully handle that. I have no idea what that will be, but…’
In June, Sajak, 77, said goodbye to Wheel of Fortune after 43 years at the helm of the game show.
Ryan Seacrest replaced him and stars on the show alongside Pat’s co-host Vanna White.