The popular game show “Jeopardy!” has fired its
executive producer Mike Richards, days after he was shown the door as its newly
appointed host because of past misogynistic and other comments. He is also no
longer an executive producer of “Wheel of Fortune”.

His exit from both the shows was confirmed by a memo to
staff from Sony, which produces both of the shows

“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,” Suzanne Prete, an executive with the game shows, said in the
memo.

Richards had signed an overall development deal with Sony in
2019, and became executive producer of “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of
Fortune” in May 2020, the Associated Press reported.

He quickly landed in a controversy when he went from
behind-the-scenes to Sony’s pick for the host of “Jeopardy!” — even before
his 2013-14 podcast comments demeaning women and making stereotypical comments
about Asians, Jews and others surfaced.

Anointing Richards as successor to the admired Alex Trebek
was a questionable choice to some, especially after the studio had conducted a
splashy search that included actors, sports figures, journalists — and
Richards.

Questions were raised about whether Richards had put his
finger on the scale in favor of himself, and whether he had the gravitas that
was seen in other candidates, such as fan-favorite LeVar Burton.

Richards had taped one week’s worth of “Jeopardy!” episodes
in a single day of filming before Sony announced his firing as a host. “The Big
Bang Theory” fame Mayim Bialik is expected to remain as the host of “Jeopardy!”
prime-time specials, but Sony is expected to resume the search for a replacement
of Trebek’s weeknight slot. Bialik will be the first guest host of the regular
program in place of Richards.