‘WOF’ Ryan Seacrest Knocked Over By Wild Contestant

On February 21, 2025, Wheel of Fortune saw a memorable moment when a contestant, Genna Root, screamed in Ryan Seacrest’s ear after winning big. Root, a middle school teacher from Fresno, California, was in the Bonus Round, where she quickly solved the puzzle and won $14,456. She was hoping to win a trip to Antarctica and more money in the Bonus Round, and her excitement was off the charts.

Genna Root’s Competition

Root was competing against two other contestants: Roberta Brown, a senior who enjoys dancing, traveling, and musical theater, and Derek Spartz, a car enthusiast who enjoys “car spotting,” which is a hobby similar to paparazzi, but for cars. Root’s time on the show quickly became memorable when she solved the Bonus Round puzzle and screamed in Seacrest’s ear out of excitement.

Before the Bonus Round began, Root introduced her mom, Sharon, and her best friend, Suzanne, who sat in the audience, cheering her on. The category for the Bonus Round was “What are you doing?” and Root was given the letters “R, S, T, L, N, and E.” For her remaining letters, Root chose “D, C, P, and O.” When the puzzle appeared, it looked like this: “CT_N ON _ _PULSE.”

Before Seacrest could even tell Root that she had 10 seconds to guess, she immediately shouted, “Acting on impulse!” She was correct, and Seacrest responded with excitement, saying, “Yes!” Root’s reaction was so enthusiastic that she screamed in his ear and hugged him tightly. Seacrest couldn’t help but smile as the moment became even more joyful.

Genna Root’s Huge Win

But the excitement didn’t stop there. When Seacrest revealed that Root had won $40,000, her total earnings from the show reached $91,096. Root shouted even louder in celebration. Seacrest joined in on the celebration as Root, her mom, and Suzanne jumped up and down on stage. Seacrest even kicked a leg out and threw his arm out in excitement, but quickly stopped after feeling pain in his knee. “Ow!” he said, cradling his leg, but he recovered fast and informed Root that she had also won a trip to Antarctica. Root couldn’t believe it and screamed again, “Oh my gosh! I did?”

As the episode ended, Seacrest said, “This show is fun,” clearly enjoying the energy of the moment. Fans on social media couldn’t stop talking about the exciting celebration. Many noticed that the Bonus Rounds on Wheel of Fortune have become much more physical and energetic since Ryan Seacrest took over from Pat Sajak. One fan pointed out that Seacrest seems to be much more involved in the contestant celebrations, jumping and even getting hugged tightly.

This isn’t the first time that Seacrest has been part of some wild moments with contestants. In another episode, Seacrest was knocked over by a contestant who ran to hug him after solving a puzzle. Seacrest lost his balance and fell to the ground, but quickly got back up and joked, “Vanna, you’ll have to take over!” His humorous attitude made the moment even funnier. Was Genna’s celebration crazy? Did Ryan Seacrest have a reasonable reaction? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.