Vanna White Temporarily Replaced On ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Due To Covid-19 Amid Contract Negotiations After Not Receiving A Raise In 18 Years

Vanna White is being temporarily replaced after she contracted Covid-19 amid her contract negotiations. 

White came down with Covid in July while Wheel of Fortune was filming their yearly “Teachers Week,” during which all contestants will be teachers, which will air in October. 

Elementary school teacher Bridgette Donald-Blue will take over for the week until White recovers. Donald-Blue won California’s Teacher of the Year award for 2023. 

This is the fourth time White has missed the show since she started 41 years ago. In 1986, she was replaced by Susan Stafford when her boyfriend, John Gibson, died in a plane crash. Her second time missing the show was in 1991 when she went on her honeymoon with George Santo Pietro, whom she later divorced in 2002. Tricia Gist filled in for White then and later in the year when White was sick. 

White is currently negotiating for more money after her host Pat Sajak announced his retirement from the show at the end of its latest season. White has not received a raise in the past 18 years. She is currently earning $3 million, while Sajak earned five times that amount at $15 million a year. Now, White is asking for a $4.5 million raise at a total of $7.5 million per year. 

Sajak shared his plans for retirement in June after he hosted the show for over 40 years. He posted a statement on X, formerly Twitter, writing, “Well, the time has come. 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.”

White shared her own sentiments about his impending retirement on X saying, “When we started @WheelofFortune who could have imagined we’d still be at it 41 seasons later? I couldn’t be happier to have shared the stage with you for all these years with one more to come. Cheers to you, @patsajak!” 

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Ryan Seacrest was named as Sajak’s replacement in June. He released a statement announcing the news on X, thanking Sajak and White for all their hard work. “I’m truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak,” Seacrest wrote. “I can say, along with the rest of America, that it’s been a privilege and pure joy to watch Pat and Vanna on our television screens for an unprecedented 40 years, making us smile every night and feel right at home with them.”