Not So Fast, Ryan Seacrest: Whoopi Goldberg Wants To Host ‘Wheel Of Fortune,’ Too

With Pat Sajak announcing his retirement from Wheel of Fortune, the search for his replacement seemed to be wrapped up before it even began. Ryan Seacrest is reportedly the frontrunner for the top gig, but a new challenger may have entered the ring.

During Tuesday morning’s episode of The View, Whoopi Goldberg confirmed that she’s interested in the hosting gig. “I want that job,” she said via The Wrap. “I think it would be tons of fun.” While Seacrest is reportedly the frontrunner, according to Bloomberg writer Lucas Shaw, other parties have been talking to Wheel of Fortune producers. Goldberg may just have revealed that she’s one of them.

Goldberg made the announcement while Ken Jennings stopped by The View, and he was not shy about hoping that Wheel of Fortune avoids the same replacement debacle that plagued Jeopardy! following the death of beloved longtime host Alex Trebek.

Via The Wrap:

When the women asked him for his thoughts on Sajak’s retirement — having stepped into the shoes of an equally iconic host when Alex Trebek died — Jennings joked that “hopefully ‘Wheel’s’ got an envelope somewhere that says ‘What to Do When Pat Packs It In.’”

As for whether Whoopi would leave The View to host Wheel of Fortune, she hasn’t showed any strong signs of being frustrated with her current daytime gig. In fact, her job has gotten noticeably easier following the departure of conservative firebrand Meghan McCain. However, Whoopi still has to defuse a few fights every now and then.

Just last week, Goldberg was forced to throw to commercial after an argument between Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah-Griffin went off the rails, causing Whoopi to lecture the two co-hosts.

“Maybe we just need to figure out how we do this again,” Goldberg said to Hostin and Griffin. “Let’s have this break, and let’s figure out how we’re going to make this work.”