80,000 Fans Sign Petition To Make LeVar Burton Next Host Of ‘Jeopardy!’

Nearly 88,000 (and counting) people have signed a petition to make LeVar Burton the next host of Jeopardy! following longtime host Alex Trebek‘s death.

“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’s description on Change.org 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!”

Though the show’s producers reportedly haven’t even gotten started on recasting the famous role, Burton has already expressed interest in it based on the petition, and thanked his fans for their support.

“Even if nothing comes from it, I can’t tell how much how I appreciate all y’alls love and support!” Burton tweeted Thursday, alongside a link to the fan-made petition.

Though the petition has thousands of signers, some of the top replies under Burton’s tweet are critical.

“This is the wrong way and you should not be the next host for Jeopardy,” one user wrote. “Alex chose Ken Jennings and that’s the next host in my opinion.”

Though Trebek showed his support for Jeopardy! champion Jennings multiple times on the show, technically he only nominated Betty White as a successor, and that nomination was probably a joke. Still, White doesn’t seem to be an unpopular choice, and her nomination is what some of the replies make reference to.

https://twitter.com/bad_leaf/status/1327006290552389632?s=20

“Love you Lamar,” one fan replied, “but it is time to give a woman a turn.”

Some users even thought that the show should be canceled entirely in Trebek’s honor.

https://twitter.com/RealR_C_S/status/1326995723481714705?s=20

“I think Jeopardy should be left as Alex Trebek’s legacy,” one replied.

It should be noted that, despite his reputation, Jeopardy! existed a few years before Trebek rose to host it, and Trebek even reportedly insisted that the producers not cancel the show after his death.

Multiple replies also attacked Burton for tweeting about replacing Trebek so soon after his death, and Burton made a separate post in response.

“Of course while I’m very flattered by the petition, my thoughts are definitely with Alex Trebeck’s family and his millions of fans and the devastating loss of this irreplaceable legend.
#LongLiveAlex,” he wrote.

The remainder of the episodes Trebek filmed before his death will continue airing until December 25, Christmas Day.