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stephen battaglio
LeVar Burton Slams Journalist For Assuming He'd Take 'Jeopardy!' Gig 'In A Heartbeat'
LeVar Burton has had it with the Jeopardy! hosting conversation, and he's putting anyone who doubts him on notice.
Burton has been the Jeopardy! fandom's #1 choice for new host since the moment iconic host Alex Trebek passed away last year, especially for people who grew up with him as the host of the children's show Reading Rainbow back in the day.
But in the wake of Burton being passed over in favor of the scandal-plagued Mike Richards, whose tenure lasted just one day due to multiple allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination, Burton has made it clear he is done with the show.
And when Los Angeles Times journalist Stephen Battaglio tweeted he believed Burton would take the gig "in a heartbeat" if asked, Burton set him straight immediately.
See the tweet below.
No Stephen, he wouldn\u2019t!— LeVar Burton (@LeVar Burton) 1631926518
"…[T]hey say be careful of what you wish for, because what I found out is that it wasn't the thing that I wanted after all..."
"The opportunities that have come my way as a result of not getting that gig, I couldn't have dreamt it up."
After being called out for presuming to know Burton's feelings toward the show, Battaglio apologized to Burton.
But when he responded tersely to a fan of Burton's who pushed back further, Burton came back to put him in his place again.
No, Stephen\u2026 you don\u2019t get a pass. You made erroneous assumptions about me and made them public. Throughout this entire ordeal I have done my utmost best to take the high road in spite of the amount of vitriol and bile some folks have felt it necessary to post on my timeline.— LeVar Burton (@LeVar Burton) 1631934361
After telling him "No, Stephen... you don't get a pass," Burton went on to explain he'd prefer Battaglio keep his name out of his mouth.
"I have a perspective on this entire J! saga which I intend to share at a time of my choosing, probably my memoirs. As a journalist I hope you can appreciate that any and all speculation about my motives or intentions is simply uninformed."
Soon, the Burton-Battaglio back-and-forth was being screenshot and presented as a lesson for how not to conduct yourself on Twitter.
You never know when the person you're tweeting about is paying attention.pic.twitter.com/Kp9O3SmQ9l— Staci D Kramer (@Staci D Kramer) 1631935421
And Burton put the whole thing to bed once and for all with a perfect one-sentence clapback.
Sometimes we f*ck around and find out. #bydhttmwfihttps://twitter.com/sdkstl/status/1439067576877862914\u00a0\u2026— LeVar Burton (@LeVar Burton) 1631935669
Burton's handling of Battaglio had people on Twitter cheering.
He might want to buy a vowel. Different game show, but proper sentiment.pic.twitter.com/hhqW03OPhH— When There's a Will (@When There's a Will) 1631936242
My hero https://twitter.com/levarburton/status/1439068618759675909\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/NZqa6Sf1nL— jstoobs (@jstoobs) 1631964086
pic.twitter.com/6M4EqvC6Bz— Cor-s Light (@Cor-s Light) 1631938654
Lol, called it. Good for you man.pic.twitter.com/nYC1Kx7uw0— Andrew Sill (@Andrew Sill) 1631935946
Levar Burton saying \u201cf*ck around and find out\u201d still comes off as the most calming and pleasant thing. THAT is special— Caleb B (@Caleb B) 1631936800
*pre pre orders Levar Burton's memoirs* https://twitter.com/levarburton/status/1439068618759675909\u00a0\u2026— Get Vaxxed or Die Mad. (@Get Vaxxed or Die Mad.) 1631946875
Dude operated like he was dealing with "Toby" & got "Kunta" energy in return. I love it.https://twitter.com/levarburton/status/1439068618759675909\u00a0\u2026— Nicole J. Butler aka "She-Shed Cheryl" \ud83c\udfda\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffe\u200d\ud83d\ude92 (@Nicole J. Butler aka "She-Shed Cheryl" \ud83c\udfda\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffe\u200d\ud83d\ude92) 1631988750
Y\u2019all have made LeVar Burton actually say \u201csometimes we f*ck around and find out\u201d \n\nAll the man did was encourage us to read. LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID! https://twitter.com/levarburton/status/1439068618759675909\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/QMcCpac2Ky— Mychal (@Mychal) 1631985691
The producers of Jeopardy! have yet to find a new host for the show, which will be helmed by former champion Ken Jennings and Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik while they continue the search.