Vanna White’s job on ‘Wheel of Fortune’ still up in the air: report
The show must go on — with or without Vanna White.
The legendary “Wheel of Fortune” letter-turner, 66, still has not finalized her upcoming contract on the game show, according to a new report, just weeks before the show is slated to return to ABC on September 11.
“Vanna and the producers are currently on a similar page and want to get a deal done but they both have a few hiccups to still clear through,” an unidentified source alleged to the Daily Mail.
“They both know they have a lot of time to do it and more discussions to be had but everyone wants something achieved and wouldn’t want Pat’s last year hampered by the constant news of the revolving contract dispute drama,” the insider continued.
“They want to celebrate this year with little to no drama whatsoever.”
The Post reached out to White’s representatives for comment.
The upcoming 41st season of “Wheel of Fortune” will make history, as it marks Pat Sajak’s last as host before he retires and Ryan Seacrest takes over.
It is also White’s last season per her current contract, which runs until 2024, according to Deadline.
After Sajak, who has been hosting the show since 1981, announced his retirement in June, it was reported by Puck News that White hired attorney Bryan Freedman to broker a deal for her, as she allegedly hasn’t received a raise in 18 years.
She already negotiated a new contract and salary for the celebrity version of the show.
However, according to this insider, the show’s producers want to make sure it’s a smooth transition between having Sajak and Seacrest as hosts and think that having White there could really help smooth out the change for viewers.
“They want her next contract though to be her last contract so there is a little more maneuverability to change things up in a few years when they look for her replacement,” the source alleged.
But White is still looking for that raise — and a “tremendous” one at that, according to the source.
“It is a matter of who is going to budge first, but they both aren’t blinking yet,” they claimed. “Vanna wants to go out on her terms and retire when she is ready with a nice paycheck to end it all.”
Puck News reported that the star has been making $3 million per year since 2005, while a 2016 report from Forbes alleged that Sajak cashes in a hefty $15 million a year for the hosting gig.
However, White already had to miss a handful of episodes in this upcoming season.
She isn’t working the show’s annual “Teachers Week” this season after reportedly being diagnosed with COVID-19.
So far, though, White has stayed mum publicly about the status of her role on the game show.
In July, she hopped aboard TMZ’s Celebrity Bus Tour to say hi to fans.
Towards the end, someone asked her whether she would be coming back to the show, or even hosting it.
In response, she just laughed and smiled, cheekily telling them all, “Time to say bye,” as she exited the bus.
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