New 'Jeopardy!' Host Is No Longer Being Selected By Mike Richards After Backlash
After Mike Richards stepped down as the new host of Jeopardy! he stayed on as the Executive Producer and was in charge of finding Alex Trebek’s replacement. However, that has now changed.
“The show has lost confidence in Mike. After Mike hired himself to replace Alex and then was forced to step down, his firing skills and judgment can not only be trusted,” sources tell RadarOnline.com.
Another source added, “The whole search project that Mike headed up has been a disaster. The show had months to find a replacement and how they are rushing to hire someone as production of the new season has already started and thanks to Mike, it currently has no host and production has been placed on hold costing the show potentially millions.”
Richards stepped down from hosting Friday after it was revealed he had made sexist comments in the past on a podcast that has since been deleted.
“Mike has not only lost the job as host and head of the search process, but it looks like he is also going to lose his job as Executive producer too,” adds an insider.
“The staff are frustrated and have turned on him. Mike has put one of the most iconic game shows in the world in a terrible position. His naked ambition has put the show's reputation in peril. Alex will be spinning in his grave.”
However, insiders reveal that without Richards’ involvement, the show is in talks with Ken Jennings, whose 74 consecutive games win broke a record, to host the show.
The decision for Richards to step down came after disparaging comments about Jewish people and women on a comedy podcast The Randumb Show back in 2013.
The backlash over the podcast was too much for Richards to stay put.
Sony Pictures released a statement reading, “We support Mike’s decision to step down as host. We were surprised this week to learn of Mike’s 2013/2014 podcast and the offensive language he used in the past. We have spoken with him about our concerns and our expectations moving forward.”
Despite their feelings, Richards was still able to keep his job as EP.
