Fans Spiral After 'Wheel of Fortune' Contestant Fumbles Obvious Puzzle

Even an audience member's audible reaction was caught on camera.

Wheel of Fortune fans were struck with a heavy dose of secondhand embarrassment during the Feb. 20 episode, as a contestant made a glaring error and lost out on a simple win.

It's Teen Week on the hit game show, and one young contestant named Khushi seemed a shoo-in to solve the "Food & Drink" themed puzzle "FRE_ _ TROPICAL FRUIT," especially after correctly guessing the letter H. But when it came down to the final letter, an S, the high school sophomore fumbled with her answer, hesitating before requesting a G.

Viewers were shell-shocked by the response, with one audience member audibly saying, "What?" amongst several other groans of disappointment.

Host Pat Sajak seemed to anticipate the backlash that would follow, noting, "You know when that happens, and you’re sitting at home you’re saying, ‘How in the world…’ but, you know, sometimes it’s a word that just doesn’t want to come into focus for you."

Related: 'Wheel of Fortune' Announcer Puts Together Sweet Surprise For Contestants' Daughter

As expected, a cascade of "fregh" memes spawned, but while a few seemed written in good humor, many forgot that Khushi is just a kid, with one even calling her "the worst Wheel of Fortune player of all time."

Others thought the game must be rigged, with no way for an answer that obvious to go incorrect.

"I think Wheel of Fortune got some secret screen up that messes with players' sight. This happens too much," one person suggested.

Plenty of viewers also stepped up to defend the student from those who were overly critical of her.

"Let's roll the tape of you playing Wheel of Fortune," one user snapped back to another.

"She blanked out. It happens to the best of us," said another, while someone else added that stage fright definitely appeared to play a part.

"As someone who has been on @WheelofFortune that hurts to watch. Also, as someone who has been on Wheel of Fortune, I totally get it," another sympathized.

"LMFAOOO I was beside myself. Only thing I thought of was maybe she thought the S had already been called? It typically does get called in the first few spins," one person defended.

"to be fair i just assumed S was already played so was confused also, half paying attention of course," another agreed.

Khushi lost out on $650 in addition to a trip to Antigua, valued at $10K, as a result of the mistake.

Related: 'Wheel of Fortune' Contestant Leaves Pat Sajak Speechless With Off-Color Comment