Why Mike Richards Quit Jeopardy!

According to accounts of his behind-the-scenes behavior, veteran game show producer Mike Richards spent years angling for a high-profile hosting gig like the one on Jeopardy! Eventually he became the show’s executive producer last year, a key figure in its search for a replacement to the legendary Alex Trebek, and was finally named the main host of Jeopardy! on August 11. That victory was short-lived, as Richards’ history of offensive and sexist comments spurred a backlash that led him to step down just nine days later (he’s staying on as an executive producer).

“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,” Richards said in a statement via Sony. “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.”

Sony Pictures Television is slated to resume their search for a permanent host, and Richards’ statement says that “we will be bringing back guest hosts to continue production for the new season, details of which will be announced next week.” It’s unclear if this will have any impact on actor Mayim Bialik, who was named the host for primetime series and spinoffs the same day as Richards.

Following Trebek’s death in November 2020 from pancreatic cancer, Jeopardy! began its search for a new host. Guests hosts included LeVar Burton, Ken Jennings, Aaron Rodgers, and Savannah Guthrie. Richards, too, took a turn as the show’s shepherd: according to reporting from The Ringer’s Claire McNear, when one of the hosts fell through due to a “minor conflict” that the crew said they could work around, Richards sought the duty. Many of the show’s biggest fans didn’t support the producer-turned-aspirant-host.

“I think that most of the other guest hosts had more of the intellectual credibility required for the job,” the proprietor of popular blog The Jeopardy! Fan told The Ringer.

People involved in Jeopardy! behind the scenes also worried about how Richards’ personal desire to host the show would affect his decision-making around the guests and other big picture involvement.

“He was the one rehearsing and giving direction to all the guest hosts, who may not have realized they were competing with him for the job,” a Sony employee told The Ringer. According to reporting from The New York Times, Richards had significant influence in which episodes featuring the candidates would be shown to focus groups that would ultimately factor into Sony’s final decision.

In early August, Variety reported that Richards was “in advanced negotiations” to become the show’s host, reportedly because Sony’s executives were taken by “his command of the fast-paced game and easy on-air manner.”

But in the days following the news, reports emerged about Richards’ behavior while executive producing The Price is Right, a job he held from 2008 to 2018, and offensive things he’d said on his podcast, The Randumb Show.

Model Shane Stirling sued CBS and the game show in 2010, claiming that she had been removed from the series due to her pregnancy. Though Stirling did not win that lawsuit, another model named Brandi Cochran sued the series over cruel treatment related to her own pregnancy and the show’s female employees more broadly.

Cochran was awarded $7.7 million for pregnancy discrimination, though later a court in Los Angeles ruled there should be a new trial. They subsequently settled out of court.

“Richards decided that the models’ skirts should be shorter and said that he liked the models to look as if they were going out on a date,” the suit said. “At his suggestion, models wore bikinis on the show more frequently.”

In a statement obtained by Variety, Richards disputed these accounts of his behavior. “These were allegations made in employment disputes against the show. I want you all to know that the way in which my comments and actions have been characterized in these complaints does not reflect the reality of who I am or how we worked together on The Price Is Right,” he wrote.

But a detailed report from The Ringer’s McNear unearthed more inappropriate behavior by Richards, ultimately leading to his losing the Jeopardy! job. The most damning were a series of remarks—about his female co-host, the appearances of her friends, and people who collected unemployment—on The Randumb Show. Richards hosted 41 episodes of the podcast throughout 2013 and 2014.

“They all look terrible in the picture. They look fat and not good in the picture. It’s bad,” Richards told his co-host Beth Triffon about a photo where two of her friends wore one-piece swimsuits. “You look great. You look like a Sports Illustrated model, and then you’ve got one-piece malones on either side of you, which are just horrible.”

When Triffon spoke about issues in her apartment, Richards crassly compared her living conditions to Haiti.

“Does Beth live, like, in Haiti? Doesn’t it sound like that? Like, the urine smell, the woman in the muumuu, the stray cats,” he said.

Some of Richards’ comments, about women, Jewish people, and Asian people prompted a strong response from the Anti-Defamation League. After the Ringer article was published, all episodes of the podcast were taken down.

“It is humbling to confront a terribly embarrassing moment of misjudgment, thoughtlessness, and insensitivity from nearly a decade ago,” Richards said in a statement issued on August 19. “Looking back now, there is no excuse, of course, for the comments I made on this podcast and I am deeply sorry.”

But Richards’ apology didn’t quell the mounting pressure to remove him from the hosting position. On August 20, the news broke that he would not be filling Trebek’s role behind the podium.

Many Jeopardy! fans are relieved that Richards will not be serving as host, though some are concerned about the news that he will remain involved as an executive producer, and how he could negatively influence the beloved series. According to The Wrap, five episodes featuring Richards as the host will air.

Jeopardy! has a unique ecosystem among television game shows, with staff and crew staying aboard for years. The responses to Richards, who had plenty of experience with programs like The Price is Right, High School Reunion, and Beauty and the Geek, focused on his outsider status and self-interest.

“I guess Mike Richards didn’t vet himself enough prior to selecting himself as the new host,” a Reddit user commented on a post about Richards stepping down.