'Wheel of Fortune': Video of Racist Contestant a Fake

Come on, you didn't really think the viral YouTube video of a white contestant on Wheel of Fortune guessing that the missing letter in the phrase CLAM _IGGER was "N" was real, did you?Well, just in case you were ready to storm down to Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, where the show is taped,…

Come on, you didn't really think the viral YouTube video of a white contestant on Wheel of Fortune guessing that the missing letter in the phrase CLAM _IGGER was "N" was real, did you?

Well, just in case you were ready to storm down to Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, where the show is taped, protest sign in hand, we decided to save you a trip and reach out to Wheel of Fortune.Β Here's what one of their publicists told us:

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This sequence of events did not take place on Wheel of Fortune. It appears someone has misappropriated actual Wheel of Fortune footage with non-Wheel of Fortune footage. Such use was unauthorized.

Since Friday the YouTube video has been taken down because of copyright infringement. Want our recommendationΒ for a good, real viral video?Β Watch the video ofΒ President Obama taking down Donald Trump (and a whole lot of other folks) at the recent White House Correspondents' Dinner. It never gets old.

In other news: Study: Nearly Half of Detroit Residents Are Illiterate.

Sheryl Huggins Salomon is senior editor-at-large of The RootΒ and a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based editorial consultant.Β Follow her on Twitter.

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