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A Wheel of Fortune contestant has turned her viral wrong guess into a powerful Black history lesson.
Contestant Shaneese Townsend went viral this week after her 2024 appearance on Wheel of Fortune was reshared on social media by journalist Jemele Hill. Hill reposted a clip of Townsend guessing "Berry Washington" instead of Kerry Washington, even as the board clearly pointed to the actress.
"sighs in Negro disapproval," Hill wrote alongside the clip.
Social media users initially roasted Townsend for her guess.
“Now who the hell is Berry Washington 😭… the only Berry we know is Gordy,” one user joked.
“Slowly yanking her card from her grips now…” another quipped.
Celebrities, including Joy Reid, David Alan Grier, and Questlove, chimed in to clown the Wheel of Fortune contestant. However, the reaction quickly shifted after Townsend messaged Hill, explaining the reason behind her guess.
“Ms. Hill. Thank you for posting my Wheel of Fortune episode. My people are eating me up in the comments,” Townsend wrote.
“They have revoked my Black card. Berry Washington was a Black man lynched in the South for killing a white man that actually attacked two young girls many years ago. Much respect to Kerry Washington. I don’t watch much TV, but I read many books," she explained.
After Hill shared the message, social media users applauded Townsend for respectfully providing an important historical lesson about Berry Washington, a 72-year-old Black man lynched on May 26, 1919, in Milan, Georgia, during the Red Summer of racial violence across the U.S.
“Oh so she has a titanium Black card and we just basic members. Got it,” actress Amber Riley joked.
“Slowly handing the card I snatched back in embarrassment… ‘Here ya go, I don’t know what came over me,’” another user said.
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