Longtime “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” host Vanna White has agreed to come back to the star-studded version of the game show, Deadline and TMZ reported Thursday.
News of the partial deal comes after sources told TMZ last month that White ― who has been on “Wheel of Fortune” for over three decades ― had threatened to quit if she doesn’t see a raise. She makes significantly less than her soon-to-retire co-host Pat Sajak for the show and its spinoff.
White’s contract with the original version of “Wheel of Fortune” is set to continue through next year, and her future pay has not yet been settled.
White’s lawyer Bryan Freedman reportedly told Sony Pictures Television Studios, the show’s producer, that the host wanted half of what Sajak made on the “Celebrity” version –– a number that Sony did not reveal but that sources said is “just north of” $400,000.
White agreed to $100,000 an episode for the “Celebrity” version, TMZ reported.
Ricky Middlesworth/ABC via Getty Images
For the main “Wheel of Fortune,” White is asking for her $3 million salary to grow to about $7.5 million, half of what Sajak makes from the show.
Those negotiations are on hold due to the ongoing writers strike. A source told TMZ that “it’s gonna get ugly if [Sony doesn’t] get more serious” in negotiations.
Sajak announced in June that he’s taking off from “Wheel of Fortune” after 40 years on the program, a move he’ll make after the show’s upcoming 41st season comes to a close.
Ryan Seacrest is set to replace Sajak as host of the show, and has said that he’s looking forward to learning from the outgoing host as he transitions into the role.
“I can’t wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White,” Seacrest said last month.