Mike Richards Is Out As 'Jeopardy!' Host Job One Day After Starting Due To Harassment Scandal
Aug. 20 2021, Published 11:38 a.m. ET
Mike Richards is out as the new host of Jeopardy! only nine days after it was officially announced he would be taking over the role for the late and legendary Alex Trebek.
This all comes as new damning details resurfaced about things Richards said and did during a podcast in 2013 and 2014.
According to Variety, Richards’ exit from the job as host of Jeopardy! comes only a day after the Anti-Defamation League called for an investigation after newly resurfaced reports came to light of his time during a comedy podcast 8 years ago. Richards reportedly made insensitive and deprecating remarks about Jewish people, women, and several other groups in various episodes of The Randumb Show back in 2013 and 2014.
On Friday morning, Sony Pictures TV confirmed that Richards agreed to step down as host.
“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 a statement to his team Friday morning. “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.”