Wheel of Fortune is a show often defined by the failures of its contestants, but rarely does a contestant call themselves a “big loser” during taping. Enter the enthusiastic and polarizing Aurora De Lucia, who on Tuesday night became a show champion that was not afraid to let their emotions show.
De Lucia’s excitement throughout the episode even earned her a promo in some markets, which she shared on Instagram.
instagram.com/p/B_QhNtDnsua/?igshid=y1p0ze36tab8
The show’s own Twitter account noted how emotive Aurora was during her appearance, especially during a big win in the Express puzzle.
🚆 #EXPRESSSOLVE: We'd be emoting onstage too after that round! 😄 #WheelOfFortune pic.twitter.com/VK4e33lNCY
— Wheel of Fortune (@WheelofFortune) April 21, 2020
“She’s emoting, right here on stage,” host Pat Sajak said after the win, “Or molting, I’m not sure?”
The lead was enough to get her into the final bonus puzzle, where unfortunately disaster struck. She couldn’t solve “A FIRM OFFER” despite some help, which would have netted her another $37,000 in prize money. Her reaction to losing made Sajak make a joke about her possibly in labor, while she then offered a frank assessment of her own performance on the show.
https://twitter.com/katewitko/status/1252742115479732224
“I’m a big loser,” she said. “I hope nobody watches this.”
Sajak, of course, said that he did. But the reaction, and her performance on the night, was sure to get a lot of reaction on social media. A number of Wheel watchers noted how bizarre the episode felt at times. One tweet equated it to a Saturday Night Live sketch, while others flooded Twitter asking about her hairstyle. She even defended herself on Twitter about the pigtails and took screenshots of negative reactions online.
https://twitter.com/AurorasBlog/status/1252815196424335360
https://twitter.com/AurorasBlog/status/1252755012553342976
As it turns out, De Lucia is no stranger to the game show stage. She was already a winner on The Price is Right and, according to her blog, has also appeared on Let’s Make a Deal. So it’s clear that De Lucia knows that enthusiasm is a big factor in not only getting onto a show (The Price is Right in particular) but also is a big factor in standing out to those watching. In any case, it seems she’s had fun interacting on social media with people reacting to her performance. She’s also offered some enthusiastic insight into what goes on during commercial breaks while taping episodes.
https://twitter.com/AurorasBlog/status/1252751229957988352
Despite declaring herself a “loser,” De Lucia is now officially a Wheel champion. And for those that were upset by the episode, unless something crazy happens she won’t be allowed back on the show anytime soon.