‘Jeopardy!’ Fans React to Mike Richards’ Exit, Slam Him Staying On As EP: “Peak White Privilege”

Apparently, Mike Richards wasn’t actually Jeopardy!‘s final answer — and the fans are just fine with that. Just nine days after the storied game show announced he and Mayim Bialik were set as permanent co-hosts of the series, Richards has stepped down from the podium. According to his statement to Sony Pictures TV today, the series will now restart the search for a permanent host of the syndicated program, with Bialik still spearheading the primetime shows and specials. Though this means the revolving door of guest hosts will be reintroduced over at ABC, for most Jeopardy! audiences, the announcement was good news.

That’s because earlier this week, a handful of controversial comments made by Richards on his 2013 podcast The Randumb Show made the rounds — comments where the ex-Jeopardy! heir disparaged women’s bodies, made jokes about Jewish people, and used slurs to describe the disabled community. Further, when Richards was still in rumors to become the permanent host, a handful of lawsuits including his alleged harassment and discrimination resurfaced.

So, naturally, Jeopardy! fans were pretty wary to have him tap in as Alex Trebek‘s successor. But today, as he exited the series after just one day of filming, the tone shifted. Even Dictionary.com chimed in to roast Richards, writing, “‘Jeopardy’ is a noun meaning peril or danger. Here it is in a sentence: ‘My job is in jeopardy because of my past comments.'” Yikes.

But other folks still haven’t forgiven Jeopardy! for the mess they caused — also noting that Richards is still an executive producer on the game show. “Mike Richards thinking he can just slink back to his EP job after saying and doing what he did is peak white privilege,” filmmaker Matthew Cherry wrote.

Even James Holzhauer, the venerable Jeopardy! champ who stands in second place to Ken Jennings for highest winnings and longest streak of all time, had quite the comment to make. “I was really looking forward to the season premiere where after an exhaustive 61-clue search for the next Jeopardy champion,” he wrote, “the show looks past the three obvious candidates and declares Mike Richards the winner.”

Still, the search for a new permanent host has begun, and Twitter has a lot to say about it. While some folks have suggested Jennings (who is in current possession of Trebek’s cuff links) or Aaron Rodgers, the majority of audiences are vying for LeVar Burton to get another shot at the gig.

Richards filmed five episodes (a week’s worth of the show) yesterday with former champ Matt Amodio, and those are still slated to debut as the first episodes of Season 38 starting on Sept. 13. Stay tuned for more updates on the new Jeopardy! guest hosts and who will become the permanent successor to the podium.

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