When Mike Richards mourned the loss of Alex Trebek last year, he had no idea what was ahead for him on the game show “Jeopardy!” At the time, he was Executive Producer of the popular game show, and he described working with Trebek as “an honor.”

In order to replace the beloved game show host, Sony Pictures decided to audition potential game show hosts by letting them guest host the show. Richards was one of the guest hosts. According to Richards, he wasn’t originally supposed to be a guest host but filled in at the last minute. Sony ended up loving his performance so much that they gave him the job permanently along with Mayim Bialik who would host specials and spin-offs of the show.

Almost immediately, fans of the show started criticizing Sony’s decision on social media. The real criticism was not about Bialik but about Richards. For starters, fans felt that Richards was given the job because he was already Executive Producer and that he didn’t really deserve the job. Then, an old podcast Richards co-hosted resurfaced.

In 2013 and 2014 Richards co-hosted the podcast The Randumb Show. On the podcast, he made inappropriate comments about women’s bodies, Jewish people and Haiti. In response to the controversy, Richards stepped down as the new host of the show; however, the original plan was for him to remain the executive producer of both “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune.” Things have changed.

Richards was fired as executive producer from both “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune.” Watch the video below for more details.

 

Deadline reports that on August 31, Suzanne Prete, the EVP of “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune,” sent an internal note to staff explaining that Richards would no longer be the executive producer of the two game shows. She wrote, “I’m writing to let you know that Mike will no longer be serving as EP of Wheel and Jeopardy! effective immediately.  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.”

Does it surprise you that Richards was fired as executive producer from “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” due to the controversy over comments he made back in 2013 and 2014? Do you think Sony made the right decision? Who do you think will be the new permanent host of “Jeopardy!”