Mike Richards Steps Down As Jeopardy Host

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Just over a week ago, Mike “Not LeVar Burton” Richards was selected as the man to replace the late, great Alex Trebek as the new permanent host of the iconic game show Jeopardy!.

Source: Daytime Emmy Awards 2021 / Getty

Well, it turns out the guy who did not give us 21 fabulous seasons of Reading Rainbow was the all-around wrong choice to host the series because first, nobody asked for this, and second, Richards has a history of making sexist, antisemitic, and otherwise repulsive comments on a podcast he hosted nearly a decade ago.

According to PEOPLE, Richards hosted a podcast called The Randumb Show from 2013 to 2014. During the podcast’s 41-episode run, Richards made a slew of offensive and disparaging remarks, most of which were directed at his co-host and former assistant Beth Triffon.

During one episode that aired in 2014, Richards engaged in what one can only assume is a mediocre white man’s version of roasting when he commented on Triffon’s time as a model for the CES trade show. Richards can be heard in a clip published by The Ringer calling her a “booth hoe,” “booth-stitute,” “booth slut” and other names you would never hear coming out of the mouth of the guy who got his foot chopped off for the culture as Kunta Kinte.

Richards also called Triffon’s friends “frumpy,” “overweight,” and “fat,” and in another clip, he can be heard responding to her complaints about her new apartment by asking;

“Does Beth live, like, in Haiti? Doesn’t it sound like that? Like, the urine smell, the woman in the muumuu, the stray cats.”

According to TMZ, the Anti-Defamation League began looking into Richards after he made off-color remarks about Jewish people. In response to someone on his podcast making a comment about big noses, Richards said, “Ixnay on the ose-nay. She’s not an ew-Jay,” which means he’s not only antisemitic, but he’s also another dude-bro who still wrongly thinks pig Latin is cool.

These aren’t the only offensive comments Richards made on his podcast, nor is it the only time a white man who served as a replacement Jeopardy! host was called out for making trash comments on social media. It’s almost as if giving white men with whack attitudes another platform isn’t always the answer.

Anyway, the guy who never once boarded the USS Enterprise to go Star Trek-ing through the galaxy announced his stepping down from his new hosting gig saying,

“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,” according to TMZ.

Richards also issued an apology saying;

“It is humbling to confront a terribly embarrassing moment of misjudgment, thoughtlessness, and insensitivity from nearly a decade ago.”

“Looking back now, there is no excuse, of course, for the comments I made on this podcast and I am deeply sorry,” he continued, according to People. “The podcast was intended to be a series of irreverent conversations between longtime friends who had a history of joking around. 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.”

So now, the big question is—who’s going to replace Richards as the new Jeopardy! host?

Well, there’s always the Black woman who Trebek reportedly wanted to replace him, CNN legal analyst Laura Coates.

Source: Paul Morigi/WireImage / Getty

There’s also Mayim Bialik who was Sony’s first choice as the new Jeopardy! host, until it turned out the actress’ schedule made it impossible for that to work.