Pat Sajak left a lasting legacy as the long-time host of “Wheel of Fortune” and something that legendary isn't easy to match for his successor. His time on the show was so impactful that some viewers are still yet to fully accept Ryan Seacrest as the new host. However, everyone has their critics and Sajak is no different. While he always attempted to be a warm host on television, some believe that he wasn’t.
Monsters & Critics reported at the start of 2025 that a large number of people on Reddit shared their dissatisfaction with the former host. Some who had been to the studios to see the show live said that Sajak always walked away from the set the moment the cameras stopped rolling. They even said that the former host never really cared about the stories of his contestants.
According to these critics, Seacrest has been a breath of fresh air. He comes off as someone who genuinely cares about the contestants and the fans instead of putting on an act for the camera. In fact, the Reddit post under which the discussion took place said, “Is Ryan really engaging with the contestants?”
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“I liked Pat for what he brought to the show but Ryan makes the show likable in ways it hasn’t been for years,” a user Justanothercrow421 commented. One user who went to see a taping of the show accused the former host of being antisocial while heaping praise on Seacrest for the job that he has done.
“Again, love Pat for what he did on the show, but from that one taping session I attended, he seemed very ‘antisocial’. He quickly left his podium after the cameras cut, and didn’t really address the audience except for like 10 seconds,” Kirbybirky commented.
It turns out that Sajak isn’t the only veteran host who has faced his fair share of criticism. “Family Feud” host Steve Harvey has also been on the receiving end of harsh scrutiny. However, in his case, the criticism came from the executive producers of the show. According to Closer Weekly, some of these executives were scared that Harvey might turn into another Sajak. It’s been reported that the former “Wheel of Fortune” host had become irritable towards the end of his run.
One of the reported instances that warranted such a reaction happened during a recording of the show. The veteran host asked a contestant named Jeff, “Women love a man in uniform. Men love a woman in what?” Jeff was hesitant to answer and he looked at his wife before saying, “the kitchen.” This did not go down well with Harvey.
“Yeah, I gotta tell ya … That’s about the stupidest thing you could have said,” he said to the contestant and the executives were not too happy with that. “Steve’s king of the hill and has become an intrinsic part of the show’s success — but insulting contestants and calling their answers stupid right to their face is the last thing people need,” an unnamed insider revealed in 2024.
