Sad Details About LeVar Burton's Life

Long after Reading Rainbow was cancelled, LeVar Burton continued to be an advocate for children's literacy. However, his hopes of reviving the show met a major setback when he and his company, RRKIDZ, became embroiled in a long legal battle with WNED, a public broadcaster that owns the rights to the Reading Rainbow brand.

In 2017, WNED sued Burton and his company, per The Hollywood Reporter. The broadcaster's lawsuit accused the defendants of "theft and extortion," as well as deception, further alleging that Burton was secretly negotiating with Netflix to create a Reading Rainbow reboot and that he was falsely claiming ownership of Reading Rainbow intellectual property. The lawsuit also sought to stop Burton from using his famous catchphrase from the show, "But you don't have to take my word for it," on his "LeVar Burton Reads" podcast. According to the outlet, he and his company were additionally sued for alleged "copyright infringement, conversion, cybersquatting, violations of the Lanham Act, breach of contract and interference with customer relations."

A few months after the lawsuit was filed, Vulture reported that Burton had won the right to keep saying his catchphrase, and that he and WNED had reached a settlement without going to court. Burton said that the public's support influenced WNED's decision to drop the lawsuit. "There was an amazing outpouring of love and support of fans," he said. "It was very heartwarming. I didn't have to say anything."

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