Just an hour after it was announced that Mike Richards was fired as executive producer from Jeopardy, one of the game’s most beloved champions, James Holzhauer, spoke up.
Holzhauer, 37, best known for his 32-game winning streak on Jeopardy back in the summer of 2019, took to Twitter on Tuesday, indicating Richards, 46, will not be missed.
Richards was initially announced as the new host, along with co-host Mayim Bialik, though he stepped down after controversial comments surfaced from a podcast he hosted in 2013 and 2014 called The Randumb Show.
Speaking up: Just an hour after it was announced that Mike Richards was fired as executive producer from Jeopardy, one of the game’s most beloved champions, James Holzhauer, spoke up
Comments: Richards was initially announced as the new host, along with co-host Mayim Bialik, though he stepped down after controversial comments surfaced from a podcast he hosted in 2013 and 2014 called The Randumb Show
‘Do I think Mike Richards’s podcast comments were appropriate for polite society? No. But did he deserve the benefit of the doubt for the job he did running Jeopardy? Also no,’ Holzhauer said in a tweet, which got over 1K retweets and 10K likes.
He also tweeted out a GIF from The Wizard of Oz which read, ‘Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead,’ seemingly in reference to Richards’ firing.
Richards was the first in a slew of guest hosts to take over for the late Alex Trebek, though many were surprised when he was named the new host alongside Mayim Bialyk.
Tweet: ‘Do I think Mike Richards’s podcast comments were appropriate for polite society? No. But did he deserve the benefit of the doubt for the job he did running Jeopardy? Also no,’ Holzhauer said in a tweet, which got over 1K retweets and 10K likes
GIF: He also tweeted out a GIF from The Wizard of Oz which read, ‘Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead,’ seemingly in reference to Richards’ firing
A report from The Ringer earlier this month unearthed comments he made on the podcast, which many found quite offensive.
During his tenure on the podcast he called his co-host Beth Triffon a ‘booth s**t’ for working a booth at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), while also making derogatory comments about her friends being ‘frumpy and overweight.’
The comments also came as his bias lawsuits re-surfaced from his time on The Price is Right, which lead to Richards stepping down as the host.
Offensive: A report from The Ringer earlier this month unearthed comments he made on the podcast, which many found quite offensive
‘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.
‘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,’ he added.
Despite leaving his role as host, Richards remained on board as an executive producer on both Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, before Sony fired him on Tuesday, with Variety reporting Michael Davies (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?) taking over for Richards.
Pains: ‘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
Richards also has a lucrative overall deal at Sony Pictures Television, with discussions also ongoing about his future with the studio as well.
‘We had hoped that when Mike stepped down from the host position at ‘Jeopardy!’ it would have minimized the disruption and internal difficulties we have all experienced these last few weeks. That clearly has not happened,’ said Suzanne Prete, the executive vice president, business and strategy for both Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.
While Sony had previously shown their support for Richards as EP moving forward, morale was said to be low on both shows, even before the hosting debacle.
Future talks: Richards also has a lucrative overall deal at Sony Pictures Television, with discussions also ongoing about his future with the studio as well
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