A contestant dubbed “the original Karen” amused host Drew Carey on The Price Is Right but had some viewers riled up.
Throughout the episode, the popular game show features contestants called down to Contestant’s Row for a chance to join Drew on stage.
Once there, The Price Is Right announcer George Gray and the various models present prizes on stage to these contestants.
One by one, the contestants bid for what they think the prize or prize package is worth.
As many longtime fans of the show already know, there’s a common bidding strategy that many contestants use to try to get on stage.
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Viewers reacted to a recent moment when a contestant employed that strategy, with Drew joking about it and fans saying they disapproved.
Drew called out ‘the original Karen’ during The Price Is Right
At the start of The Price Is Right episode aired on Thursday, June 13, George told four contestants to “come on down” to Contestant’s Row.
They included Nader, Dena, Jarren, and Karen. The Price Is Right dropped down a rotating display from the ceiling in front of them.
It contained three designer watches by Vanna, which George said were stainless steel and gold-plated. The set also included a leather watch case.
Contestants bid in the order they got called down, giving bids of “1400,” “1100,” and “1700.”
“1701!” Karen yelled, making her bid a dollar more than Jarren’s bid.
“Wow, you really are the original Karen,” host Drew Carey quipped and chuckled since her black t-shirt said “The Original Karen.”
That brought laughter from the audience and some of Karen’s fellow contestants. Drew also had to compose himself after he kept laughing.
The Price Is Right’s Instagram page shared a video clip showing the funny moment from the recent episode.
“Self-proclaimed Karen pulls a Karen move 😂,” the video’s text overlay read.
Unfortunately, that bid strategy didn’t work out in Karen’s favor. She and two other contestants had overbid, while Dena’s bid was several hundred less than the price of the prizes.
Viewers had mixed reactions to the contestant’s bid
Based on commenters’ reactions, the game show bidding strategy is unpopular with plenty of viewers.
One commenter said they “hateeeeee when they bid one dollar up and disqualify the last person, not cool.”
“I always root for them NOT TO WIN,” the individual commented.
Another commenter said they “despise the ‘one uppers,’” while another individual mentioned she “didn’t win the pricing game” or her spin on the Wheel.
Other viewers seemed fine with the strategy of bidding a dollar higher; some commenters mentioned that it happens all the time.
“People do it on every show,” one commenter wrote, with another commenting, “Contestants have been doing this since I was a kid, nothing new.”
Another commenter called the contestant a “smart woman” for using that bidding strategy to increase her chances of getting on stage.
For those who missed the episode, Karen didn’t continue using that strategy. She placed a range of bids during her time on Contestant’s Row.
Nearly halfway into the episode, she got the closest bid to win a pair of electric drift carts by Razor and joined Drew on stage.
She attempted to win trips to Tokyo, Japan, and Marrakech, Morocco, by playing the game 1 Right Price. Models Rachel Reynolds and Alexis Gaube held a price card with “$10,586” on it.
Karen guessed it was the right price for the Tokyo trip, but unfortunately, the reveal showed that was the price for the Morocco trip, so she lost out.
While Karen’s later attempt to achieve the best Showcase Showdown spins on the Wheel didn’t work out in her favor, she still achieved a memorable moment and viral highlight during her time on the game show.
