Posted on 08/20/2021 8:38:11 AM PDT by frogjerk
What is a quitter? Mike Richards — the recently announced new host of “Jeopardy!” — has already bailed on the gig amid ongoing controversy about his problematic history of sexist language and lawsuits.
He announced his departure in a bombshell memo dropped Friday on the beloved game show’s production staff.
“[Sony Pictures Television] will now resume the search for a permanent syndicated host,” Richards, 46, revealed in the resignation letter. “In the meantime, we will be bringing back guest hosts to continue production for the new season, details of which will be announced next week.”
A spokesperson for Sony TV told The Post: “We support Mike’s decision to step down as host. We were surprised this week to learn of Mike’s 2013/2014 podcast and the offensive language he used in the past. We have spoken with him about our concerns and our expectations moving forward.”
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The now-married father of two referred to then co-host and former assistant Beth Triffon as a “booth ho,” “booth slut” and “boothstitute,” and asked her about her “booby pictures” on her phone, The Ringer first reported, quoting episodes that have now been yanked from the web.
The Burbank, Calif. native also labeled Triffon’s friends “really frumpy and overweight,” saying “they look fat and not good,” while also declaring that women “dress like a hooker” on Halloween.
The outlet said it reviewed all 41 episodes after news broke that Richards was accused in lawsuits of harassing TV models, which he recently insisted did “not reflect the reality of who I am.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Who?
From https://www.theringer.com/tv/2021/8/18/22631299/mike-richards-jeopardy-host-search-process-past-comments
The conversations among Richards, his cohost and former assistant Beth Triffon, and occasionally Jen Bisgrove—the podcast’s producer and Richards’s assistant at the time—are freewheeling, skipping between pop culture news, upcoming TV lineups, and the latest goings-on at Price. Many have a gossipy edge, with Richards displaying a tendency to turn bawdy and sometimes vulgar. In one 2014 episode, Triffon discusses once working as a model at CES; Richards subsequently calls her a “booth ho” and “booth slut.” When the subject comes up again in a later conversation with Let’s Make a Deal announcer Jonathan Mangum, both Mangum and Richards repeatedly call her a “boothstitute.”
Triffon did not respond to multiple requests to speak about the podcast. Bisgrove, who joined Sony in 2019 and is now listed as a production coordinator at Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, did not respond to a request either.
Women’s bodies and clothing are recurring subjects for Richards. On a 2013 episode, he says that women “dress like a hooker” on Halloween; on another, he tells a story about a former Price employee who had taken up baking: “We said that we were going to have to saw her out of her room because she was going to be so giant that she wouldn’t be able to fit out the door.” When discussing weight gain, Price announcer Gray says, “There’s a lot of guys that would not be entirely upset with a petite woman that’s curvy”; Richards repeatedly uses the term “huskadoo.” He saves his praise for Elisabeth Hasselbeck, the former cohost of The View and Fox & Friends: “She’s, like, kind of my type. You know—blond, good-looking.”
After seeing a photo of Triffon standing by two friends at a lake, he says one-piece swimwear is “genuinely unattractive.” “Not good. Not becoming. Not flattering.” Richards says that the swimsuits had made her friends “look really frumpy and overweight,” which prompts the following exchange:
Triffon: It’s so funny because no one’s overweight.
Richards: But they all look terrible in the picture. They look fat and not good in the picture. It’s bad. You look great. You look like a Sports Illustrated model, and then you’ve got one-piece malones on either side of you, which are just horrible.
Triffon: I can’t wait till you meet my roommate, because she’s literally gonna be like, walk up to you in a bag and be like, “Hey.”
Richards: “Hey, what’s up? I’m wearing a smock.” And then I’m gonna give her a smack.
There are multiple conversations in which Richards makes remarks about Triffon’s height and appearance. He repeatedly calls her a derogatory term for little people, a word that he also uses to describe the actress Kristin Chenoweth. (Both that word and the R-word, which Richards uses in a January 2014 episode, are considered slurs.) In the podcast’s third episode, Triffon discusses some acting roles she has auditioned for; Richards says she should try out for Taiwanese roles because of her height. In another episode, after Gray makes a nonspecific comment about big noses, Richards jumps in. “Ixnay on the ose-nay,” he says. “She’s not an ew-Jay.”
Richards also makes disparaging comments about Triffon’s economic status. During an episode in which Triffon discusses problems at her apartment, he says, “Does Beth live, like, in Haiti? Doesn’t it sound like that? Like, the urine smell, the woman in the muumuu, the stray cats.” In another episode, Triffon talks about losing her job and says she qualified for unemployment insurance benefits totaling $389 per week. Richards says, “The dangerous side about the crack that you just took is that not everyone is like you. But everyone can collect unemployment, which is why we have so many people on unemployment right now. Which is why we have so many people on food stamps. Because what if you got unemployment and food stamps? You’d be like, ‘Good lord, I’m making—.’ You know what I’m saying?”
some new moron they choose to be the host
The guitarist for the rolling stoners was on jeopardy?
Back to the guest hosts, probably for a full season. A lot of people are pulling for LeVar Burton, who looked noticeably nervous during his guest-hosting gig. My opinion: the show could do a lot better, but these days, quality game show hosts are in short supply, and most actors/news anchors just can’t hack it.
I say give announcer Johnny Gilbert a shot; he’s been with this incarnation of Jeopardy! since 1984, and he looks/sounds great—for a guy who just turned 97. Richards departure may also re-open the door for Ken Jennings, the uber-lib who is also the show’s most successful contestant of all time. Can’t stand Jennings and I think he turned off a lot of viewers, one reason he didn’t get the job after his guest host stint earlier this year.
LeVar Burton is probably their best choice.
Nobody wants that job for some reason....................
Sounds like a bit of a kook.
No one is perfect. On that note now they can tick off the boxes to find a new host.
I think so. He is likeable and I think he can do well.
Maybe it’s just me but why don’t they just let the show go? It’s not 1984 anymore. Game show hosts of old were of a different breed.
Jeapordy is very linear. Since it was in production what about continuity of contestants. While Richards was filming.
I’ll never watch it again. It isn’t Jeopardy without Alex.
He was the ultimate and quintessential gentleman.
Hopefully they can get someone good but if not, I agree, let it die. It cannot be allowed to become SNL which has gone on 20 years too long.
I think they should give LeVar Burton another try. I read an interview where he seemed like a normal guy, and grounded. He’s done other things so it isn’t like this would be his “big break” that he could lose perspective over.
Call up the guy that said there is no such thing as bad publicity. Or are we living in some alternate universe?
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How about having Bill Clinton be the guest host for a week?
Mario Cuomo could do a stint, too.
And then Bill Cosby.
Have Harvey Weinstein host it from a prison cell?
I am just getting warmed up guys and gals!!
As long as he loses that damn visor!
Regards,
Seriously, the wife and I watch Jeopardy almost every night. We’ve suffered thru practically every guest host they’ve had...and I don’t remember this guy. I’m not a big fan of Jeopardy but the wife loves it, so...you know what were watching.
The only thing I can think of... The wife went out of town for a almost two weeks in July/Aug and I turned the TV off, except for a few movies. Maybe he hosted during that period?
At least I’ll have something to tell the wife...as we watch Jeopardy tonight. Sigh.
They might go for Ken Jennings, but they would be smart to give Brad Rutter a try. Of the big Jeopardy! GOAT names (Ken, James, Brad), he is the most natural.
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