LeVar Burton embraces calls to make him the next ‘Jeopardy!’ host

LeVar Burton is making a push to become the next host of “Jeopardy!”

On Monday, the former “Reading Rainbow” host tweeted a Change.org petition to give him the reins at the popular game show following the death of longtime host Alex Trebek last year.

“Leaving this here in the event the powers that be are listening,” Burton said, linking to the petition, which as of Wednesday afternoon had nearly 175,000 signatures out of a 200,000 goal.

Leaving this here in the event the powers that be are listening… https://t.co/xB3x8atDCv

— LeVar Burton (@levarburton) April 6, 2021

“Between hosting 21 seasons of the educational Reading Rainbow, playing the brainiac engineer Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: the Next Generation, and filling the roll of Kunta Kinte in the ever important mini-series Roots, LeVar Burton has inspired and shaped the minds of several generations of trivia-loving nerds,” the petition reads. 

“This petition is to show Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and producers Mike Richards and Harry Friedman just how much love the public has for Burton, and how much we’d all love to see him as the next host of Jeopardy!” it continues

Since Trebek’s death in November from pancreatic cancer, “Jeopardy!” has enlisted rotating bevy of guest hosts to fill his shoes, including Katie Couric, Aaron Rodgers, Mehmet Oz and Sanjay Gupta. 

Some 500 former contestants wrote an open letter criticizing the show for having Oz, popularly known as Dr. Oz, as host, saying the move is contrary to everything the knowledge-based program stands for. 

“Jeopardy! Is a show that values facts and knowledge. Throughout his nearly two decades on television he has used his authority as a doctor to push harmful ideas onto the American public, in stark contrast with his oath to first do no harm,” the letter said. 

“These ideas include promoting supplements that do nothing, legitimizing gay conversion therapy (which is banned in California, as well as 19 other states), dangerous ‘cures’ for autism, and, most recently, the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19,” it added.