LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: In a shocking turn of events, ‘Wheel of Fortune’s longtime host Vanna White has reportedly been replaced for a week of upcoming episodes.
White has been recently dealing in ugly battles with gameshow execs ever since ‘American Idol’ Ryan Seacrest was announced as Pat Sajak’s successor.
The 66-year-old letter-turner has been demanding raise in her salary for the first time on the show and alleges that she does more work than her co-host, Sajak.
Also, her absence from the upcoming episodes is the result of her contracting Covid-19 in late July while the gameshow was filming its annual Teachers Week to be aired in October 2023.
Why is ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Vanna White replaced by Bridgette Donald-Blue?
Vanna White has been the host of the popular game of wheels ‘Wheel of Fortune’ for more than 40 years now. She has been hosting the show alongside Pat Sajak, however, the latter has candidly announced his retirement as he will be stepping down from his duties in 2024.
According to Puck News, White is confirmed to miss a few episodes of ‘Wheel of Fortune’ following her catching Covid-19 in late July.
The game show's annual Teachers Week is scheduled to air in October, and the filming was underway when White fell sick. Rather than pausing production, the producers opted to introduce a replacement.
‘Wheel of Fortune’ execs reached out to Bridgette Donald-Blue, the Teacher of the Year recipient, to stand in for White at the letter board for the duration of the week's episodes.
Although this marks White’s first-ever absence in nearly 30 years, a source revealed to TV Line that the execs had no other choice but to replace her. On Friday, an insider clarified that due to the firmly established schedule, production for Teachers Week had to proceed without White.
They said, “Teachers had already arrived in L.A. to tape the episodes and, with the academic school year starting, it was not feasible to reschedule that day.”
They explained that five episodes, equivalent to a week's worth, are recorded in a single day. The source added, “In keeping with the Teachers Week theme, Bridgette Donald-Blue graciously agreed to fill in for Vanna for those five episodes.”
Nevertheless, for the second tape day of the special, the gameshow managed to retain White as the letter-turner. They rescheduled the taping of the subsequent day to accommodate White’s absence.
Consequently, White will be absent for one week's worth of episodes, but not for the entire two-week duration.
Vanna White’s fight for ‘fair pay’
However, the news arrives as White reportedly engages in tense contract negotiations, aiming to secure her first reported raise in 18 years.
The veteran host Sajak, 76, recently revealed his decision to retire in June 2024, marking 40 years of hosting. Seacrest, 48, is set to succeed him after the conclusion of the next season, signaling the conclusion of an era and the dawn of a new one.
Reportedly, White is seeking a well-deserved increase in her salary, as she currently makes only half of what Sajak earns.
According to sources cited by People, “50 percent of Pat's salary is so outrageous that no one in their right mind could say that it's fair. The negotiation is asking for much more than 50 percent of his salary. It's asking for the same pay - if not more.”
In a previously surfaced interview with Esquire, White humorously asserted, “My position is much more, what’s the word? I work a lot harder,” joked Vanna at the time. “I’ve walked thousands of miles. And he didn’t have to do that. In my heels, no less.”
For these negotiations, White enlisted the services of prominent attorney Bryan Friedman, tasked with handling two contracts, one for ‘Celebrity Wheel of Fortune’ and the other for the long-standing syndicated show, as reported by TMZ.
However, negotiations for the syndicated program have purportedly hit a roadblock due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike. An unnamed insider conveyed to the outlet, “It's gonna get ugly if Sony doesn't get more serious.”
Concurrently, regarding her new contract for ‘Celebrity Wheel of Fortune’, the star will see a "meaningful bump" and is poised to earn $100,000 per episode. It's reported that Sajak currently garners $400,000 per episode.
TMZ previously affirmed that White’s overall annual earnings amount to about $3 million. In contrast, Sajak supposedly brings in around $15 million yearly, according to the same source.
Negotiations between White and Sony have allegedly grown "very difficult”, as noted by a source familiar with the situation, also disclosed by TMZ. Another insider stated that the hostess views her negotiations as " feels like it's a statement for all women" and is reportedly negotiating for "a minimum of what is fair.”
However, a different source informed People that the preceding TMZ report was inaccurate, including the assertion that White accepted an offer of $100,000 per episode to continue hosting the show's Celebrity edition.
