Turns out Jeopardy! wasn’t all fun and games for LeVar Burton.
Following the death of long-time host Alex Trebek in 2020, the Reading Rainbow star was in the running to be chosen as Jeopardy!’s replacement host. The role ultimately went to former executive producer Mike Richards—who was fired after allegations of sexist comments—and then to Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings.
Now, the author is opening up about not being chosen for the position, revealing that he was ”not just disappointed, but wrecked.”
“Experiencing a very public defeat, humiliation, if you will, was sobering,” Burton told Newsy’s In the Loop in an interview. “I didn’t expect that I would not be their choice for host.”
Part of the hurt had to do with the fact Jeopardy! was Burton’s “favorite game show” that he had watched since he was a kid. “I honestly thought that I was well-suited for it,” he says. “As it turns out, it really wasn’t a competition, after all, the fix was in.”
Jeopardy! did not respond to E! News’ request for comment.