New host is out
Mike Richards stepped down Friday as the host of “Jeopardy’ following reports of a number of inappropriate comments he made on a podcast several years ago.
stepped down Friday as host of “Jeopardy!” following reports of a number of inappropriate comments he made on a podcast several years ago, bringing more turmoil to the iconic TV game show.
Richards, the executive producer of the iconic quiz show, announced the change in a memo shared by the show’s production company Sony Pictures Television. He will remain in his production role.
As a result, the program will continue to search for a permanent host to replace Alex Trebek, who died in November. But the ongoing controversies surrounding the process of finding a successor has tarnished a broadcasting institution beloved by several generations of viewers.
“It pains me that these past incidents and comments have cast such a shadow on Jeopardy! as we look to start a new chapter,” Richards said in the memo.
“As I mentioned last week, I was deeply honored to be asked to host the syndicated show and was thrilled by the opportunity to expand my role. However, over the last several days it has become 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. As a result, we will be canceling production today.”
Sony Pictures Television will resume its search for a permanent host for the daily syndicated edition of the program. Actor Mayim Bialik was hired to host a series of primetime “Jeopardy!” specials and spinoffs, and is likely now a serious contender for the full-time job.
The program will go back to using guest hosts for the time being, as production on the 2021-22 season has already begun.
Richards apologized for “the unwanted negative attention that has come to ‘Jeopardy!’ over the last few weeks and for the confusion and delays this is now causing. I know I have a lot of work to do to regain your trust and confidence.”
In a statement, Sony stated its support for Richards in the executive producer role. But it remains to be seen if the media company can withstand by tsunami of bad publicity Richards has brought upon the program and keep him in charge.
“Mike has been with us for the last two years and has led the ‘Jeopardy!’ team through the most challenging time the show has ever experienced,” the company said in a statement. “It is our hope that as (executive producer) he will continue to do so with professionalism and respect.”
Sony also said it supported Richards’s decision to step down and was “surprised” to learn of the host’s podcast where he used offensive language.
“We have spoken with him about our concerns and our expectations moving forward,” the
company said.
The imbroglio raises further questions over how rigorously the company vetted Richards, who has spent most of his career behind the scenes as a game show producer and did not have a high public profile before his “Jeopardy!” fill-in stint earlier this year.
According to a report in The Ringer, Richards made comments in 2013 and 2014 disparaging Jews, little people and women in a podcast, “The Randumb Show,” which he co-hosted.
—Los Angeles Times
Boseman to receive tribute from widow
Chadwick Boseman is set to receive a televised tribute from his widow Simone during Saturday night’s star-studded Stand Up To Cancer fundraising special, organizers said Friday.
The celebrated “Black Panther” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” actor died Aug. 28, 2020 at the age of 43 after waging an intensely private, fouryear battle with colon cancer.
He continued working through “countless surgeries and chemotherapy” before he passed away, his family previously said in a statement.
The latest biennial Stand Up To Cancer show will be carried by the four
major networks and multiple streamers at 8 p.m. on both coasts and 7 p.m. central time.
“Black-ish” star Anthony Anderson, “Modern Family” star Sofia Vergara and comedian Ken Jeong and his wife, Dr. Tran Ho, signed on to host the telecast that’s due to include performances by Brittany Howard, Common and Stevie Wonder.
“Chadwick Boseman was fueled by purpose and sought to fulfill that through writing, directing, acting and activism,” Stand Up To Cancer organizers said in a statement announcing the tribute.
Boseman’s breakout performance was his portrayal of baseball legend Jackie Robinson in “42.” He then solidified his leading-man status playing James Brown in “Get On Up.”
He joined the Marvel universe as the Black Panther in 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War” and was lauded for his starring role in 2018’s standalone “Black Panther” flick, a critically acclaimed monster hit that catapulted him to international super-stardom.