[ad_1]
LeVar Burton has come out to say that he ‘was not just disappointed, but wrecked’ after he was passed over for the position of Jeopardy! host last summer – contradicting previous claims that he had been unaffected by the slight.
Speaking to Newsy in a sitdown interview, the 65-year-old longtime Reading Rainbow host addressed lingering animosity regarding his ill-fated bid to host the show, which saw producers instead pick ex-Wheel of Fortune host Mike Richards.
However, Richards, 46, has since been nixed, leaving the show after just a few weeks on the job over offensive comments made on a podcast in 2014. He was subsequently replaced by Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik, who share hosting duties.’
Experiencing a very public defeat – humiliation, if you will – was sobering,’ Burton told host Christian Bryant in the interview.
‘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 in the moment.’
Scroll down for interview:
Speaking to Newsy Tuesday, 65-year-old Levar Burton addressed still-lingering animosity regarding his ill-fated bid to host the game show last summer
Burton’s desire to take on the lauded game show gig long held by late TV icon Alex Trebek had been well known following Trebek’s tragic death in 2020, and many even pegged him as the favorite. Burton served as the show’s guest host for a single episode in July 2021 (pictured)
Burton’s desire to take on the lauded game show gig long held by late TV icon Alex Trebek had been well known following Trebek’s tragic death in 2020, and many even pegged him as the favorite over candidates like Richards and former contestant Jennings, 48, who guest hosted several shows during that transitionary period.
However, in August, showrunners surprisingly announced that Richards was their man – with Burton only serving as a guest-host for a single episode that aired in July 2021.
The decision left many puzzled – and in Tuesday’s interview a newly bitter Burton alleged showrunners had conspired against him so that he did not get the job, cryptically commenting that ‘the fix was in.’
‘I didn’t expect that I would not be their choice for host,’ Burton, who in November told reporters that he was ‘disappointed’ but ‘not devastated’ over the slight, shared.
‘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,’ he went on. ‘As it turns out, it really wasn’t a competition, after all – the fix was in.’
Alex Trebek served as host of the daily syndicated version of Jeopardy! from its premiere in 1984 until his tragic death in 2020.
In the wake of his passing, Jennings served as the first interim host.
Between January and February 2021, additional guest hosts were announced, including executive producer Mike Richards; television news personalities Katie Couric, Bill Whitaker, Savannah Guthrie, and Anderson Cooper.
NFL star Aaron Rodgers, talk show Mehmet Oz, and actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik would follow.
By April 2021, a final group guest hosts got their opportunities, including television news personalities George Stephanopoulos and Robin Roberts, Squawk on the Street co-host David Faber, Fox Sports broadcaster Joe Buck, and Burton, who had recently starred on Reading Rainbow. In addition, Buzzy Cohen, the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, winner hosted the 2021 Tournament of Champions.
In August, Richards would end up getting picked to succeed Trebek, with Bialik serving as host of Jeopardy! primetime specials and spin-offs.
But then, just nine days later, it was revealed that Richards would no longer take over the job after controversial comments he made in the past resurfaced.
Host: Following the drama surrounding Mike Richards, it was announced in September that Ken Jennings would host the show
Host: Mayim Bialik will also serve as host of Jeopardy! with Jennings
Within weeks, it was announced that Bialik and Jennings will host the show through the end of 2021.
Through the host replacement drama, Burton came to a place where he admitted to Trevor Noah that he was not that interested in the gig after all, during an appearance on The Daily Show, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
[ad_2]
Source link
