Mike Richards Out as ‘Jeopardy!’ Host After Podcast Comments | THR News - video Dailymotion

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The embattled host announced he's stepping down, production on the new season has been suspended and the search for a new permanent daytime host will begin anew.

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00:00Mike Richards is out as the host of Jeopardy! after a podcast where he made sexist comments

00:04resurfaced. Producer Sony Pictures Television announced Friday that Richards, who is also the

00:10show's executive producer, was stepping down as host. The move follows a report by The Ringer

00:14on Wednesday resurfacing derogatory comments made by Richards on his podcast The Random Show in 2013

00:20and 2014, including mocking women's weight, calling one model a quote, booth slut, and repeatedly

00:26praising quote, average white guy hosts. Adding to the controversy was that Richards was the subject

00:31of a discrimination bias lawsuit during his time as executive producer on The Price is Right.

00:36The upcoming season of Jeopardy! had started filming Thursday with Richards as host,

00:40but on Friday morning he released a statement to his team that read, in part,

00:44It pains me that these past incidents and comments have cast such a shadow on Jeopardy! as we look to

00:49start a new chapter. As I mentioned last week, I was deeply honored to be asked to host the

00:53syndicated show and was thrilled by the opportunity to expand my role. He continued,

00:58However, over the last several days, it has become clear that moving forward as host would be too much

01:02of a distraction for our fans and not the right move for the show. As such, I will be stepping down

01:06as host effective immediately. As a result, we will be canceling production today. Richards went on to

01:11reveal that Sony Pictures Television will resume the search for a permanent syndicated host,

01:15and the show will bring back guest hosts to continue production for the new season.

01:19He also apologized to his team for the, quote, unwanted negative attention that has come to

01:23Jeopardy! In addition, Sony released a statement which confirmed that Richards will continue working

01:27as the show's executive producer, saying in part, We support Mike's decision to step down as host.

01:33We have spoken with him about our concerns and our expectations moving forward.

01:37For more on this story, go to THR.com. For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Tiffany Taylor.

Mike Richards Out as ‘Jeopardy!’ Host After Podcast Comments | THR News

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