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‘The Fix Was In’: LeVar Burton Reflects On Losing ‘Jeopardy!’ Hosting Gig

   DailyWire.com
LeVar Burton
Michele Crowe/CBS via Getty Images

LeVar Burton is unhappy about getting passed over to host “Jeopardy!” on a permanent basis.

The 65-year-old actor didn’t mince words while discussing losing out on the hosting gig, which became vacant when longtime show host Alex Trebek died from pancreatic cancer in 2020.

The “Roots” star spoke with “In the Loop” on Newsy and said he was very upset about how it all played out.

“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 in the moment,” Burton told host Christian Bryant.

Burton was one of a handful of guest hosts who were potentially in the running for a long-term “Jeopardy!” hosting opportunity. Those names included Ken Jennings, Mike Richards and Mayim Bialik. Jennings and Bialik have been switching off hosting for the latest season of the show, per New York Post.

“In the fullness of time, everything will be revealed. And like I said, it was I think in that first week of feeling really sort of not just disappointed, but wrecked,” Burton continued. “I didn’t expect that I would not be their choice for host.”

During the interview, the “Reading Rainbow” alum admitted that his guest hosting led to other opportunities that he likely would not have had otherwise. One of those is hosting the 2022 Scripps Spelling Bee. Another will showcase Burton as the creator and host of a new game show based on the classic Hasbro game Trivial Pursuit.

“The doors have been opened. Windows have been opened. The phone hasn’t stopped ringing, and I never would have experienced those things that I’m experiencing, like hosting the Scripps Spelling Bee, had I gotten that job,” the actor told Bryant.

“So I think it was a big lesson for me and just being willing to sit in the discomfort long enough to find out what was really supposed to happen for me around this game show thing.”

Still, Burton believes the contest was ultimately rigged against him.

“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,” he said. “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.”

“I believe I’m still mining some of the takeaways from that experience,” Burton continued “First and foremost, I’m a firm believer in betting on myself, and I would encourage anyone and everyone out there to believe similarly in themselves. I’m always going to bet on me,” he concluded.

The full interview will be broadcast on ET at 9 p.m. Wednesday.

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