Since being fired as the replacement host of “Jeopardy!” in August 2021 shortly after longtime host Alex Trebek died of pancreatic cancer, Mike Richards has had time to reflect on the series of events that led to his termination.
In a new interview, the former executive producer of “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” opened up about his whirlwind experience hosting the game show for one day and detailed the lasting effect it has had on him and his family.
“No one was more surprised than me,” Richards told People of being offered the position shortly after Trebek’s death. “They told me, ‘We’d like you to be the host of the syndicated version of “Jeopardy!”‘ I paused, and said, ‘Oh wow. Thank you. What’s the media plan?’ Because I was very concerned that this was going to be scrutinized as closely as a presidential election. There was widespread belief that whoever got the job first wouldn’t make it.”
‘JEOPARDY!’ HOST MIKE RICHARDS OUT FROM GIG FOLLOWING PAST COMMENTS HE MADE ABOUT WOMEN ON A PODCAST
Mike Richards temporarily acted as “Jeopardy!” host after Alex Trebek’s death. (Getty Images)
“Everyone was so angry because it looked like I had gone into a room and picked myself,” he admitted. “And that’s not what happens in television, but I understood that that’s what the outward appearances were.”
Richards, who signed an overall development deal with Sony in 2019, and became executive producer of “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” in May 2020, ended up hosting the game show for one day. filming five episodes before things went south.
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“I hosted one day,” he said. “And then the Anti-Defamation League was called in to do an investigation on me.”
“It was the price you pay for getting thrust into the zeitgeist in a very inopportune moment,” he added.
Richards stirred controversy after clips of him making stereotypical and demeaning comments toward Asians, Jews and women surfaced from his podcast “The Randumb Show” in 2014.
Mike Richards attends the CBS Daytime Emmy after party on April 29, 2018, in Pasadena, California. (JB Lacroix/WireImage)
At the time, Richards apologized for his behavior and vowed to learn from his mistakes.
“It is humbling to confront a terribly embarrassing moment of misjudgment, thoughtlessness and insensitivity from nearly a decade ago,” Richards said in a statement to Fox News in 2021. “Looking back now, there is no excuse, of course, for the comments I made on this podcast and I am deeply sorry.”
“The podcast was intended to be a series of irreverent conversations between longtime friends who had a history of joking around,” he continued. “Even with the passage of time, it’s more than clear that my attempts to be funny and provocative were not acceptable, and I have removed the episodes. My responsibilities today as a father, husband, and a public personality who speaks to many people through my role on television means I have substantial and serious obligations as a role model, and I intend to live up to them.”
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Ken Jennings is currently the host of “Jeopardy!” (Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images)
Now, Richards – who’s currently working on pitching and selling more shows and game show concepts – said he’s ready to tackle any “open, honest conversations” surrounding his past behavior and his termination.
“I did spend a lot of time reflecting on everything that had happened,” he said. “I mean, it was quite a firestorm that engulfed my family.”
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“Why I am talking now is that I feel like I can be a force for good as far as having open, honest conversations,” he says. “We can all disagree about a lot of things. We can disagree about politics, we can disagree about who hosts ‘Jeopardy!’ We can disagree about liking a Final Jeopardy clue. And we should. But I felt like there was this rush to judgment, and a lot of people got joy in saying, ‘I got you.'”
