Controversial Jeopardy! executive producer steps down
Posted August 31, 2021 10:44 am.
Last Updated August 31, 2021 2:14 pm.
LOS ANGELES — Three weeks after he was named as the replacement for the late Alex Trebek as host, Mike Richards is no longer affiliated with Jeopardy!, the popular game show.
Sony cited “disruption and internal difficulties” in its announcement that Richards will leave the program entirely, and will no longer be the show’s executive producer. He is also out as the executive producer of Wheel of Fortune.
A Sony executive says they were hoping his decision to step down as host would have minimized the disruption and internal difficulties, but the response to Richards remaining within the company had been fierce.
Mike Richards, who was tapped to be the new host of Jeopardy!, has been fired as EP of that show and Wheel of Fortune. He got the full-time job earlier this month and then stepped down after it was revealed he made offensive/sexist comments on a podcast several years ago.
— Sonia Aslam (@SoniaSAslam) August 31, 2021
The controversy surrounding Richards began earlier this month after reports surfaced about offensive and sexist comments he made on a podcast several years ago.
FILE – The late Alex Trebek died at 80 years old after a battle with cancer. (Jeopardy! via AP)
Richards was chosen to replace Trebek, after the Canadian television host died last year from pancreatic cancer. Just a week after Richards was given the job, he stepped down, but remained in his role as the executive producer.
Richards had signed on with Sony in 2019, and became executive producer of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune in the spring of 2020.
With files from The Associated Press
