A contestant on a recent episode of “The Price Is Right” walked away with a trip to Hawaii — and an injury.
Contestant Henry Choi aggressively pumped his arms while celebrating on several occasions during the episode Thursday. It was unclear exactly when the injury occurred, but the contestant seemed to have dislocated his shoulder in the process.
Choi had previously failed to give a precise bid on a smart whiteboard. But when it came time for Choi to bid on a Pilates reformer, a Lululemon yoga set and a self-cleaning water bottle, the price was right. He trumped contestants by bidding $1,380, the closest to the retail price of $1,455 without going over.
Once host Drew Carey called his name, Choi threw his hands in the air, pumping his fists and yelling on his way onstage. After Carey admired his “Price Is Right” hoodie, Choi resumed the animated celebration when it was revealed that he had won a stay at a resort on the Big Island of Hawaii.
After again getting the price right for the vacation in a breakaway game, Choi gave perhaps his most boisterous dance, this time leaping into the air, punching his fists toward the sky and his chest. However, as he was shaking Carey’s hand just before a commercial break, the contestant appeared to be nursing his right arm, grabbing at it and stretching it out.
“Let me explain what happened. Henry was celebrating and going, ‘Woo,’ and he dislocated his shoulder,” Carey said in a later segment of the episode, drawing sympathetic groans from members of the audience, with Choi joining him onstage. Cary then introduced Alice, Choi’s wife, who would spin the wheel with Choi standing beside her during the Showcase Showdown, where contestants try to land at or near $1 without going over.
After the wheel landed at 95 cents, Choi celebrated again, this time yelling and meagerly lifting his uninjured left arm as his wife leaped and threw both hands in the air.
“Don’t hurt yourself,” Carey said with a chuckle.
As Choi and his wife moved to the side for the next contestant to spin the wheel, Choi walked slowly with his body slumped toward his injured side.
“Yeah, he’s really hurting; he’s gonna get taken care of right after the show,” Carey said.
“Hang in there, we’ll have EMTs look at him,” he later assured audience members before another commercial break.
The CBS show shared a clip of the injury on its Instagram page over the weekend with the caption, “He won a trip to Hawaii and the ER #PriceIsRight. (Update: Henry is feeling better and all healed now!)”
It was unclear whether Choi was hospitalized for his injury. Representatives for CBS did not immediately respond to the L.A. Times’ requests for comment.
Choi’s injury wasn’t the first to occur on CBS’ longtime syndicated reality game show. In 2014, a contestant named Judy injured her ankle while spinning the Showcase Showdown wheel. She appeared later in the episode using crutches, with Carey saying medics had “taped her up” and iced her ankle.
During Bob Barker’s tenure as host on the show, another contestant tumbled onstage during a celebration after a correct bid won him a new station wagon. The contestant, Scott, rolled on the ground and grabbed his knee before popping back to his feet. He would reinjure himself, falling again after stomping his foot in defeat after an incorrect bid.
“His knee went out,” Barker said, tending to the fallen bidder before cutting to a commercial break.
Scott would return for the Showcase Showdown, but this time he sat in an office chair as Barker spun the wheel for him.
“You’re going to be one of the most memorable contestants we’ve had on the show,” Barker said, laughing as Scott energetically wheeled around the stage with a smile. “Not just because you hurt your knee leaping around here, but because [of] your good humor about the thing.”
Other onstage falls have taken place on the show over its 50-year run but appeared not to result in any injuries.
___
© 2023 Los Angeles Times
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.