LeVar Burton Still Bitter After 'Jeopardy!' Hosting Gig Snub: 'Very Public Defeat'
LeVar Burton still tastes bitterness after not being able to become the permanent "Jeopardy!" host.
Among all the aspiring "Jeopardy!" host, Burton showed the most enthusiasm as he wanted to lead the game show after Alex Trebek's death.
However, "Jeopardy!" chose to have Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik on board. With Jennings' absence, it is highly likely that the latter could become the first full-time female host of the show in "Jeopardy!" history.
With that, Burton remains salty because of the snub.
In an interview in "In the Loop" on Newsy, he expressed how "wrecked" he felt - rather than disappointed - after losing the bid to permanently lead the program.
"Experiencing a very public defeat - humiliation, if you will - was sobering. And what I learned from the experience, really, is that it reinforced my belief that everything happens for a reason, even if you cannot discern the reason at the moment," Burton told host Christian Bryant.
Burton explained that he did not expect he would not be the team's choice to host "Jeopardy!"
Despite not being able to return to the show's podium, the "Reading Rainbow" host landed on the 2022 Scripps Spelling Bee. He will also become the creator and host of "Daily Double," a new game show based on "Trivial Pursuit."
With the projects he received, Burton calmed himself with the fact that some things were truly supposed to happen for him instead.
"Jeopardy!" Search for Permanent Host Not a Competition
Although he has an unmatched love for "Jeopardy!" Burton realized that the search for a host was not a competition at all.
"The truth is it was my favorite game show. It really was. I mean, I watched that show since I was in the third grade and Art Fleming was the host. And I honestly thought that I was well-suited for it. As it turns out, it really wasn't a competition, after all - the fix was in," he went on.
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Even if "Jeopardy!" does not believe in him, Burton assured himself that he would always going to bet on him no matter what.
Burton's new statement came after he revealed on "The Daily Show With Trevor Noah" that he had been wanting to become Trebek's successor. At that time, he told everyone that he had already moved on from experience.
The petition "Make LeVar Burton the next host of Jeopardy!" on change.org had already been closed, and it received 296,856 supporters before letting it go for good.
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