Vanna White—who possesses what is, arguably, the steadiest modelling career in recent history—has revealed that she hasn’t received a pay raise for her work on ‘Wheel of Fortune’ in 18 years.
White, who joined the gameshow in 1982, makes approximately $3 million a year. A hefty sum for anyone, but still five times less than her male counterpart, Pat Sajak. Now, upon the news that Sajak is retiring, White has decided not to leave with him, as previous reports have suggested.
“I don’t even want to think about that. I mean, we’re a team,” she said. “That’s depressing. I don’t even want to think about it. I can’t imagine. Everybody relates Wheel of Fortune to Pat and Vanna. We’re like Ken and Barbie, you know? We’ve been in everybody’s homes for 40 years, so it would be weird having somebody else turn my letters.”
You read that right, folks; “turn my letters”.
White is interested in taking the host position for ‘Wheel of Fortune’, although it seems the network execs are leaning towards hiring a bigger name. That said, White acquired a “aggressive new lawyer” to help with her salary renegotiations. White’s representatives are arguing that not only does she spend more time onset of ‘Wheel of Fortune’ than Sajak is required to, but that she does much more publicity work than Sajak.
Sources:
Vanna White Asked for A Raise Following Pat Sajak’s Wheel of Fortune’ Departure (msn.com)