Mike Richards, who was announced as the brand new host of “Jeopardy!” just last week, has stepped down from the show. The show will revert to guest hosts for the time being. Richards’ announcement comes just days after The Ringer website exposed a recitation of offensive comments from his past.
Claire McNear, a reporter for The Ringer and the author of a recent book about “Jeopardy!” and the late host Alex Trebek exposed Richards’ old podcast. He made derogatory remarks about little people, Jews, people receiving unemployment benefits, and sexist comments about women.
Richards took down the podcast episodes and apologized, saying, “my attempts to be funny and provocative were not acceptable.” He said he intended to live up to his obligations as a “role model” as the new “Jeopardy!” host. However, it quickly became apparent that his apology was not well received.
Richards wrote in a memo that Sony “will now resume the search for a permanent syndicated host. In the meantime, we will be bringing back guest hosts to continue production for the new season, details of which will be announced next week.”
The memo indicated that Richards would remain the executive producer of the show.
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