Outraged 'Wheel of Fortune' fans say contestant got cheated out of $40K

A pink orchid has “Wheel of Fortune” fans seeing red.

The Jan. 30 episode of the popular game show ended in controversy after viewers claim Megan, the contestant who made it to the bonus round, lost, even though they claim she guessed the correct answer, which was "Pink Orchid."

Here’s the setup: The category was “Living Thing,” and the puzzle that appeared after she got the traditional R, S, T, L, N, and E and guessed her letters was “P_N_ _RC_ _ D.”

The first words out of Megan’s mouth once the timer started sounded like “pink orchid,” but nothing happened and she continued to try and work out the answer, to no avail.

If you rewatch the clip — and you know you will, right? — it sounds like Megan may have said "pink orchid" or “something orchid.”

“You might have been overthinking a type of orchid,” host Pat Sajak told her after the buzzer sounded and the missing letters were revealed.

“Pink,” Megan said while laughing, without any trace of anger that she had actually guessed it or surprise that she lost when she may have said the correct answer.

“I’m sorry that didn’t work out for you,” Sajak continued before he revealed she missed out on the big prize: $40,000.

Several people on X were livid Megan didn’t win.

"Hey @WheelofFortune I definitely heard the contestant say 'pink orchid' at the beginning of that final puzzle & rewound it to make sure. You owe her some $$$," one fan wrote.

"Am I tripping or did she say pink orchid," another irate person commented.

"The woman got screwed on #WheelOfFortune bonus puzzle tonight, she totally said 'PINK ORCHID' right at the start," someone else pointed out.

"Honestly, it feels like this woman got robbed out of her bonus prize tonight on #WheelofFortune," another person wrote. "Can you guys help me get #PinkOrchid trending? That was the actual answer to the puzzle & a bunch of us legitimately heard her say that right when the clock started."

"I heard it too! She said Pink orchid. What the heck," commented another shocked fan.

This doesn't appear to be a black and (Vanna) white issue, though. Some viewers don't believe Megan gave the right answer.

"I think she was talking it out and said som-PINK orchid. Like cut off 'something' in the middle?" one person commented. "Regardless a major bummer."

"She said 'something orchid' as in she knew orchid but didn’t know the first word," someone else pointed out. "She then said pony orchid lol she clearly was thinking it was a type of orchid and not a color. She didn’t even get mad when he said the answer. She definitely didn’t say pink."

One viewer said it took some time, but she eventually figured out that Megan did not give the right answer.

"Ok. Totally a retract. I thought she said 'Pink Orchid,' but she said 'Something Orchid. Literally 14 rewinds. Sorry, lol," the person commented.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com