Jeopardy! Producers Reportedly Rejected Laura Coates for Hosting Gig Despite Alex Trebek’s Request
CNN’s Laura Coates said Monday that Jeopardy! producers shut her down when she reached out about hosting, despite the fact that Alex Trebek named her as a possible replacement before he passed away in November 2020.
Coates joined Tamron Hall on the Monday edition of her talk show, in which Hall noted that Trebek named the CNN legal analyst as one of two people that he wanted to replace him as host of Jeopardy!
“I actually was as shocked as anyone else was when he first said it. I never met him — I’m a lifelong fan of Jeopardy!” Coates said. “And I was thrilled when he said my name. I thought, ‘My God. This person that I have watched my whole life really, even knows my name let alone thinks that I would be worthy enough to fill his shoes which frankly can’t be filled?”
Coates had previously responded to the request in a July 2018 tweet:
Incredibly honored & humbled @Jeopardy Alex Trebek 1) knows who I am 2) thinks I’d be a great host of my fave game show ever that I grew up watching w/ my family & still watch w/ my own kids (who saw him say this & now think I’m a genius) #Dying https://t.co/qdMxWc9g5e via @TMZ
— Laura Coates (@thelauracoates) July 30, 2018
“Incredibly honored & humbled @Jeopardy Alex Trebek 1) knows who I am 2) thinks I’d be a great host of my fave game show ever that I grew up watching w/ my family & still watch w/ my own kids (who saw him say this & now think I’m a genius,” she wrote.
Despite the fact that Trebek handpicked her as a replacement, Coates revealed on Monday that she was rejected by producers of the game show when she reached out regarding the gig.
“I asked for the opportunity when it came time, when they were looking for people to possibly fill in,” she told Hall. “I certainly raised my hand and knocked on doors and found them closed. I asked for the opportunity. I was told, ‘No.’”
Coates’ claim adds to the laundry list of host-related drama the game show faced following Trebek’s death, as former Jeopardy! executive producer Mike Richards named himself as the new host in August 2021.
Richards was fired roughly a week later after past derogatory jokes his involvement in discrimination lawsuits from his prior job at The Price is Right came to light.
Mayim Bialik and Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings have been sharing the hosting duties since Richards’ ousting.
