New host of Jeopardy! steps down after controversy,
Quick exit comes days after revelation of sexist comments by producer
Well, that was quick.
In a stunning announcement Friday morning, Mike Richards — who some argue should never have been awarded the job — “stepped down” as the new host of “Jeopardy!”
His hasty departure came just two days after the Ringer website exposed a barrage of sexist and derogatory comments from his past, and just nine days after he was tapped to replace the late Alex Trebek as the face of the iconic TV game show.
The Ringer report about comments made by Richards on a podcast led to denunciations from critics, including the AntiDefamation League.
In a 2013 episode, Richards joked about women who “dress like a hooker” on Halloween; in another episode, he called his female co-host a “booth slut” because she once worked as a model at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. He also described women who wear one-piece swimsuits as looking “really frumpy and overweight,” and referred to stereotypes about Jews and large noses.
Richards, a standup comedian turned game show impresario, was executive producer of “The Price Is Right” at the time he made the comments.
In an earlier controversy, Richards faced scrutiny when lawsuits resurfaced from his time at that job, including allegations that he had balked when one of the show’s on-air models, Brandi Cochran, announced that she was pregnant with twins. According to the lawsuit, Richards put his face in his hands and told her, “Twins? Are you serious?” The case was eventually settled. The suit also claimed that Richards wanted the models to wear skimpier clothing. Richards said in a statement this month that the allegations do “not reflect the reality of who I am.”
In a memo to “Jeopardy!” staff Friday, Richards said the controversy had made “clear that moving forward as host would be too much of a distraction for our fans and not the right move for the show.”
“As such, I will be stepping down as host effective immediately,” he wrote.
He added, “It pains me that these past incidents and comments have cast such a shadow on ‘Jeopardy!’ as we look to start a new chapter.”
He concluded: “I know I have a lot of work to do to regain your trust and confidence.”
That’s because, in somewhat of a surprise, Richards will stay on as executive producer of “Jeopardy!” But the search for Trebek’s permanent replacement goes on. In his memo, Richards said Sony Television Pictures will revert to a guest host rotation as it continues production for the new season, details of which will be announced next week. Friday’s tapings were cancelled. (Richards taped next season’s first five episodes Thursday, which will air beginning Sept. 13.)
Actress Mayim Bialik has been tapped to host primetime specials, and Sony says Richards will remain at “Jeopardy!” as an executive producer.
The search to replace Trebek, who died of cancer last year, had riveted fans of the show, a television institution whose first iteration dates to 1964. So now what? “Jeopardy!” could install Bialik as its nightly host. But the former star of “The Big Bang Theory” comes with some baggage of her own in the form of past controversial opinions and is in her second season of headlining the Fox sitcom “Call Me Kat,” which could cause problems with scheduling.
Aaron Rodgers is playing football again.
LeVar Burton has a massive, active fan base and was trending on Twitter after the Richards announcement was made public.
And then there’s Ken Jennings, the “Jeopardy!” GOAT who reportedly generated the best ratings of all celebrity fillins, remains on staff as a consulting producer for the show.
Or why not give some consideration to Trebek’s advice? In 2018, he suggested that CNN senior legal analyst Laura Coates or NHL sportscaster Alex Faust might make great replacements.