*Back in November, Burton fans created a Change.org petition calling for the “Reading Rainbow” host to take over Alex Trebek’s duties on ABC’s long-running game show. As of Wednesday (April 7), the petition had over 162,000 signatures.
“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 states.
It continues, “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!”
Burton reacted to the online love and support in a series of tweets, writing, “Even if nothing comes from it, I can’t tell how much how I appreciate all y’alls love and support!”
READ MORE: LeVar Burton Reacts to Petition to Make Him New Jeopardy! Host
Leaving this here in the event the powers that be are listening… https://t.co/xB3x8atDCv
— LeVar Burton (@levarburton) April 6, 2021
“Of course while I’m very flattered by the petition, my thoughts are definitely with Alex Trebeck’s [sic] family and his millions of fans and the devastating loss of this irreplaceable legend. #LongLiveAlex,” he added in a follow-up tweet.
On Tuesday, Burton shared the petition on Twitter, adding the caption “Leaving this here in the event that the powers that be are listening,” he tweeted.
Trebek died in November at the age of 80, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. “Jeopardy” guest hosts have included everyone from Greenbay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Katie Couric and “Jeopardy” champion Ken Jennings.
You can sign the petition in support of the Burton “Jeopardy!” takeover here.
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