Mike Richards has been fired as the executive producer of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune because of his past controversial comments and sexual harassment allegations. Sony executive Suzanne Prette released a statement saying; “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”
British producer Michael Davies, known for his popular show Wife Swap, will help on the production until further notice, and Prete wrote that she, too, will be more involved with “the day-to-day” on Sony’s game shows moving forward.
Former Jeopardy champ James Holzhauer tweeted: ”Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead’ from Wizard of Oz. 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”
Richards was slated to replace the late Alex Trebek on Jeopardy! after the legendary and beloved host died last year, but stepped down after sexist and racist comments he made on his podcast in 2013 and 2014 and a sexual discrimination lawsuit filed against him during his time working on The Price Is Right resurfaced online. Richards denied the allegations in a staff memo, but said that continuing on as a host “would be too much of a distraction for our fans [and] not the right move for the show.” Sony Pictures said at the time that Richards would stay on as executive producer, but the later decision that he would leave was made by the studio.
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Photo Source: Jeopardy Productions
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