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Published 15:15 15 Jul 2026 GMT
The automotive world frequently relies on massive spectacles to capture public attention, ranging from celebrity television giveaways to pioneering electric vehicle launches.
While these grand moments often live on through viral internet memes and historical summaries, the reality behind the scenes can be far more complicated than viewers realize.
Both production teams and early automotive adopters often face unexpected financial burdens once the initial excitement fades.
One of the most famous examples occurred in 2004 during a now-iconic episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, where the host surprised her entire studio audience with a free vehicle.
The massive marketing stunt distributed 276 Pontiac G6 cars, totaling roughly $7.7 million at the time. Although the audience reacted with pure joy on camera, a major tax problem quickly turned the generous gesture into a public relations headache for the show's staff.
Because the vehicles were legally classified as gifts, the recipients were responsible for paying standard federal income tax on the value of the prize.
While the producers covered the sales tax and registration fees, they could not absorb the personal income tax obligations for every single winner.
This left many audience members with sudden bills worth thousands of dollars, leading to significant backlash in the media.
Reflecting on the situation during an episode of the podcast Making Oprah: The inside story of a TV revolution, producer Lisa Erspamer described the toll the response took on the staff.
“It was devastating after, because ‘gift tax’ is a thing, and it’s always a complicated thing when you’re giving stuff away,” she noted. Erspamer further explained the team's efforts to mitigate the issue, stating, “But we paid for the sales tax and the registration for each car, and we told the audience after, if they didn’t want to have to pay a gift tax, they could actually take cash for the car.
"And because we didn’t pay the gift tax, people complained to the press, and that was devastating. We put our whole soul into this moment of television and with real intention to do something good, and so when people had a negative reaction, it literally hurt our feelings.”
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Published 16:31 21 Dec 2022 GMT
Oprah has divided opinions after she appeared to suggest that $100 is not a lot of money.
Oprah Winfrey, 68, is one of the richest people not only in the US but in the entire world. At the time of writing, Forbes states that the entertainment mogul is the 1,151st wealthiest person on the planet with a net worth of $2.5 billion.
The star is best known for her talk show where she interviews high-profile celebrities as well as giving out gifts to the audience, but she also made her money through being an actress as well as a best-selling author.
It would appear that her billions have made her lose touch with the average person, as a viral video shows that she considers $100 to be a small amount of money.
The video was shared on TikTok and shows a fan asking Oprah for Christmas present ideas for his mother. The TV personality responds with the idea of gifting a jewelry box.
When the man says the gift is probably a little too far out of his price range, Oprah declares that it's "only" $100 dollars and seemed taken aback when that was still deemed too expensive.
The eager fan wanted a gift a little lower in price, to which Oprah responded: "Lower than $100?" with a smile on her face.
She then suggests the sentimental gift of writing out a list of the top 10 reasons why he loves his mother, which he describes as perfect.
Oprah's reaction to the man's initial question has divided viewers, with some thinking that she is out of touch with reality.
One person said: "The judgement when he said $100 was too expensive," and another added: "Oprah be like, $100 expensive? Jeez how much do you have."
But not everyone thinks Oprah's thoughts were judgemental, as a viewer supported her: "I think Oprah handled this and answered this very well."
Another supporter said: "Honestly not absurd to assume a grown man is expecting to spend $100 for his mother."
A fifth person thought she handled the situation very well by coming up with an alternative: "Her second suggestion was incredibly thoughtful."
The man's mother will surely love the sentimental gift idea!
Published 13:30 26 Dec 2021 GMT
Audi has confirmed that it will gift a Wheel of Fortune contestant a car after she lost out on just that despite giving a correct answer.
On the show, which aired on Tuesday, contestant Charlene took part in the final puzzle in the category 'What Are You Doing?'. She had just 10 seconds to guess the correct phrase after submitting her letters.
She initially gave the incorrect answer of "Choosing the right card", before going on to say: "Choosing the right... word!"
"Choosing the right word" was correct, however, host Pat Sajak regrettably informed her that because of the pause, she had not won the round.
Take a look at how it unfolded below:"This one’s tough because you said all the right words, including the word ‘word,’ but as you know, it’s got to be more or less continuous," Sajak informed her. "We’ll allow for a little pause, but not four or five seconds. I’m sorry. You did a good job in getting it, but we can’t give you the prize and it was the Audi."
So, Charlene was denied the brand new vehicle simply because she paused for a moment to think of the next word. Essentially, Charlene's "Choosing the right" and "Word" were considered as two separate guesses.
She had lost over a technicality and fans of the show weren't too happy about it.
"@WheelofFortune well we had a good run. I won't watch the show anymore. That lady won the AUDI, she answered the phrase within the timeframe allowed," one viewer wrote on Twitter. "You have hidden rules, fake show. Ill never watch again (unless she gets the AUDI ANNND the rule changes)"
"Wheel of Fortune, you just lost a viewer," another added. " 'I am choosing the right word' to never watch this show again. #WheelofFortune #choosingtherightword I'm done! I'm with that lady. She deserves that Audi! That rule is the most dumbest thing ever! She had it right before the time was up!"
Fortunately, Audi has since confirmed in a statement to Newsweek that the company will be gifting Charlene her well-deserved Audi Q3.
A spokesperson told the outlet: "[We] saw Charlene's Wheel of Fortune episode on Monday and were collectively disappointed that she missed out on the opportunity to take home an Audi Q3 due to a technicality. So in the spirit of the holidays, Audi of America will be gifting her with an all-new Audi Q3."
Published 14:58 14 Jul 2026 GMT
Five years ago, YouTube mogul Mr Beast gave an unassuming commuter a Lamborghini Gallardo, and now the lucky man’s NDA has expired; he has revealed the advice he received moments after the monumental gift.
In 2021, the content creator with a staggering 508 million subscribers on YouTube spent a day as an Uber driver and picked up customers in flashy cars before handing over the keys to them when they reached their destination.
One fortunate fella who was gifted a supercar on his way to work recently took to Reddit to explain the advice he was given as soon as the cameras stopped rolling.
The man, who did not use his real name in the post, called the unexpected gift ”the craziest thing that’s ever happened to me in my life.”
According to the winner, he initially thought the video was staged, but within two days the paperwork was completed, and he was given the cars with no strings attached.
However, just moments after he was told the car was his to keep, the video creator, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, turned the cameras off and instructed him to sell the car as soon as possible.
Recalling the moment he received a life-changing gift, the young man said: “While I eventually figured out that it was actually MrBeast, he turned off a few hidden cameras I didn’t even notice (first time in a car this expensive), [and] he told me to sell it as soon as he signed it over to me.”
Reportedly, he was given this advice because a luxury tax would come into play within 60 days, and unless the man who won the car had a spare $6,000 lying around, then he would not be able to keep the car without being hit by a whopping bill.
The supercar would also be subject to extortionate insurance premiums, so the smart thing for the formerly cash-strapped man to do would be to sell it and invest the money more wisely.
The car’s temporary unexpected owner revealed that he took the YouTuber’s advice and sold the Lamborghini Gallardo for $95,000.
While he could have gotten more for it if he did not drive it all during his two-month ownership, the man claims he has no regrets as he wanted to enjoy driving the car while he could.
Cleverly, the young man bought himself a slightly less glamorous Honda Civic instead, then splashed some cash on shopping sprees before investing the rest of the money in his future.
Published 16:13 23 Dec 2021 GMT
Wheel of Fortune viewers are demanding that a contestant receives a brand new car after she guessed the correct answer to a puzzle... but a little-known rule prevented her from winning.
On Tuesday's show, contestant Charlene was facing her final puzzle in the category 'What Are You Doing?'.
After submitting her letters, she had 10 seconds to guess the correct phrase.
At first, she incorrectly guessed "Choosing the right card", before moving on to say: "Choosing the right... word!"
"Choosing the right word" was correct, however, host Pat Sajak said that due to her pause, she was not a winner.
Watch the injustice play out below:"This one’s tough because you said all the right words, including the word ‘word,’ but as you know, it’s got to be more or less continuous," Sajak informed her. "We’ll allow for a little pause, but not four or five seconds. I’m sorry. You did a good job in getting it, but we can’t give you the prize and it was the Audi."
That's right, Charlene missed out on a brand new Audi because she briefly paused to think of the next word to come out of her mouth. This meant that Charlene's "Choosing the right" and "Word" were considered as two separate guesses.
Following the show, many viewers took to Twitter to slam the show's decision to refuse to award Charlene with a new car.
One viewer tweeted: "I'm just shaking my head. We should all gather a petition to let Wheel of Fortune give her well-deserved prize."
"Hey, the lady on #WheelofFortune solved the puzzle in time. It's unfair to not award her the prize. Do the right thing and give her the car which she rightfully won," wrote a second viewer.
One disgruntled viewer even quipped: "You know what?! I’m gonna take a long pause from Wheel of Fortune..."
Alex Jacob, the winner of Jeopardy!'s 2015 Tournament of Champions, shared his thoughts on the decision, writing: "Come on @WheelofFortune, the woman literally chose the right word. Give her the car."
"I understand rules are rules but this seems like a particularly dumb rule. C'mon Wheel, it's Christmas," Jacob added in a follow-up tweet.
Even Audi tweeted out in support of Charlene, writing on their official US page: "You're a winner in our eyes, Charlene. Now, let's get you a prize. Time to #GiveHerTheQ3."
Something tells me that - one way or another - Charlene will be getting a new Audi for Christmas. Fingers crossed!
Published 18:16 22 Mar 2021 GMT
Wheel of Fortune winner Scott Kolbrenne has donated $145,000 of his winnings from the game show to charity this week.
According to CNN, Kolbrenne managed to amass approximately $45,000 in cash and prizes during the regular rounds of play.
He then correctly guessed the bonus puzzle and collected the Grand Prize of $100,000, winning $145,000 altogether.
Take a look at the moment Kolbrenne won the game in the video below:He has now pledged to split the prize money and give $72,500 to both the Uplift Family Services at Hollygrove and the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, an organization that helps children and their families manage and recover from traumas and other financial difficulties.
Kolbrenne, who hails from Hewlett in New York state, has worked at the former organization for the last 20 years, currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors on the latter.
TV Line reports that Kolbrenne - a lifelong Wheel of Fortune fan who watches the program "religiously" at home with his family - was selected to serve as a contestant on the game show after appearing in a virtual audition and being accepted by the production team.
According to TV line, Kolbrenne later stated: "While I hoped I would do OK on the show, I never thought that anything like this could happen. I got lucky that day and knew right away that I wanted to share my good fortune."
Related - 'Kinky' Wheel of Fortune puzzle leaves viewers red-faced:He added: "So I decided to contribute all of my winnings to Uplift Family Services and Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, whose services support thousands of families.
"The fun and memories from the day will stay with me forever, but the urgent need in our community cannot wait."
Uplift Family later shared the news of Kolbrenne's donation on it's official Facebook page, writing in a status: "Did you catch Wheel of Fortune on ABC7 last night?
"Board member Scott Kolbrenner brought home an incredible $145,000, which he is generously donating to Uplift Family Services and the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.
"We are so honored and grateful that Scott chose to play for us while advocating for our agency's Los Angeles-based Hollygrove programs!"
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