'Wheel of Fortune' contestant reveals what Pat Sajak told him after his 'butt' guess

Every once in a while “Wheel of Fortune” has a laugh-out-loud moment — and the May 23 episode had one of them.

With longtime host Pat Sajak's final episode fast approaching, the game show started off with a hilarious moment when a contestant named Tavaris Williams made a daring guess while attempting to solve a “Phrase” puzzle.

As the letters appeared on the board, he said, “Right in the butt!” before making an “oops” face.

“Whaaat?!” a stunned fellow contestant said as the audience gasped and laughed.

The moment went viral and also caught the attention of Jimmy Kimmel, who had Williams as a guest during his “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” opening monologue on May 29.

“I don’t care what Pat Sajak says, that was a great answer,” Kimmel told Williams virtually.

“Pat was the best! He made me feel so great about that at the break,” Williams replied. “He said, ‘You know, we’ll find a tactful way of editing it. I don’t know how, but we’ll do it.’”

Williams said that he filmed the episode back in April and told his wife about the moment when he got home.

“I told my wife immediately after, ‘I will keep everything a secret except this — this you have to know about. They said they might edit it. I don’t know what it’s going to look like,’” he said. “And then it was out of sight, out of mind until the world reminded me of what I said.”

Kimmel then jokingly asked Williams if “right in the butt” was a “phrase you use frequently.”

With a straight face, Williams replied, “I have never used those words in sequential order a day in my life, Jimmy.”

As for how his experience has affected Williams — who won $9,500 on “Wheel of Fortune” — he was a good sport, saying, “I am spreading a lot of smiles around the world.”

During the May 23 episode, Sajak simply said “no” after Williams’ wild guess before calling on a contestant named Blake, who responded, “This is the best!”

Sajak then added, “Yeah, that’s, that’s it. I think,” in between more laughter.

Williams, on his end, told Blake, “Much better answer.”

As the game continued and Sajak introduced the three contestants, he turned to Williams and said, “Well, Tavaris, you’ve already made an impression on us.”

Williams offered his apologies, saying, “I apologize, Pat. I was a little excited.”

Sajak let it slide, casually saying, “We’ll figure out a way to handle that tastefully,” as more laughs ensued. “I have no idea what that’ll be, but ...”

People on social media had some fun with the moment, calling it a “Wheel of Fortune clip you will be seeing many times throughout the rest of your life,” as well as “Wheel of Fortune Hall of Fame"-worthy.

“I may be an 83 year old man who watches Wheel of Fortune regularly, but moments like this are rare and make it all worth it,” one user wrote on X.

Another person called it the “greatest moment in Wheel of Fortune history,” while another wrote, “Wheel of Fortune is a lot spicier than I remember.”

Even the official X profile for Merriam-Webster tweeted, “Yes, we saw the Wheel of Fortune clip you can stop sending it to us.”

This is Sajak's final season after more than four decades as the host of “Wheel of Fortune.” He has held the position since 1981. The 77-year-old Emmy winner announced his retirement from the long-running game show in June 2023.

“Well, the time has come,” he wrote. “I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it’ll keep the clickbait sites busy!)”

A month later, it was revealed that Ryan Seacrest would replace Sajak as host. By September 2023, Vanna White also extended her contract to stay on the show.

Sajak's reps confirmed to TODAY.com that the host's final episode will air June 7.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com