Laura Coates: Last News

You knew going into Friday’s Real Time on HBO that Bill Maher would cover the topic that everyone in Hollywood is talking about. And did he ever, starting from the top.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorLet’s get after it: Even as CNN puts much of its energy into launching a new streaming-video hub, it’s also trying to figure out how to replace Chris Cuomo in its pivotal 9 p.m. time slot.Some staffers at the WarnerMedia network believe CNN has been holding the equivalent of on-air tryouts in recent weeks, turning over the 9 p.m. hour to hosts like Michael Smerconish, Laura Coates and Brianna Keilar.

Jeopardy! prevented her from hosting the show, after late host Alex Trebek had handpicked her.Coates said she offered the producers to guest-host the game show but they refused, despite Trebek publicly voicing his support for her.“I asked for the opportunity when it came time when they were looking for people to possibly fill in. I certainly raised my hand and knocked on doors and found them closed,” Coates said on the Tamron Hall Show, according to the Independent.“I was told ‘no,’ which is one of those moments when you have to remember to wear your own jersey.”She added: “You have to remember to continue to be your own champion in other respects, and sometimes the vision that you have for yourself — or those that surprise you, other people — don’t align with what happens, and that happened there.”Reflecting on the moment Trebek had first mentioned Coates alongside Alex Faust as two potential replacements, Coates said: “I was thrilled when he said my name, and I thought, ‘Oh, 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.’”The show’s producers are yet to comment on Coates’ claims.

Laura Coates recalled Jeopardy! producers denying her the opportunity to host the iconic game show despite receiving support from the late host Alex Trebek.The CNN legal analyst was one of two names Trebek had interest in replacing him when the time was right, and had also expressed interest in Los Angeles Kings commentatorAlex Faust.Coates told Tamron Hall on her self-titled talk show Monday that by the time she contacted Jeopardy! after Alex's death, they were not interested.Trebek died on Nov. 8, 2020 at age 80, after a 20-month battle with stage IV pancreatic cancer.

Speaking Monday on “Tamron Hall,” Coates, who had social media rally behind her cause last summer, said she “asked for the opportunity when it came time, when they were looking for people to possibly fill in.”Eager to be considered among the likes of current Season 38 hosts Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik, along with other fan favorites like LeVar Burton and Aaron Rodgers, Coates said she “certainly raised [her] hand and knocked on doors and found them closed.”“And I asked for the opportunity. I was told ‘no.’”The Post has reached out to Coates and representatives for the show for comment.The show’s initial decision of awarding the gig to executive producer Mike Richards horrendously backfired after alleged sexist comments from the short-time host were revealed last summer.

Before his death, longtime Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek said he thought Laura Coates would make a great replacement — but she claims producers never gave her the chance to try out for the job.

CNN’s Laura Coates claims she was snubbed from being given the chance to host Jeopardy! after the tragic passing of Alex Trebek.