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Former Danger! Producer Mike Richards is finally speaking out about what went wrong during his ill-fated hosting stint two years ago.
Richards was announced as the full-time replacement for the late Alex Trebek in 2021. He lasted just one day before resigning after questions were raised about his conduct.
“We never discussed how to replace Alex once we knew he was sick,” Richards said. People in a new interview. “A conversation like that would have been very disrespectful. We had talked about people coming over and hosting guests if Alex got too sick. But we always knew Alex would come back until the day he decided he couldn’t.”
Trebek died of pancreatic cancer in November 2020. At the time, several guest hosts were brought in as executives struggled to determine who would host.
The tests included Katie Couric, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Buck and Robin Roberts. During the process, Richards was inserted into the mix and was eventually offered the job.
“No one was more surprised than me,” he said. “They told me, ‘We’d like you to host the syndicated version of Danger!‘ I paused and said, ‘Oh, wow.’ Thank you. What is the media plan? Because I was very concerned that this was going to be scrutinized as closely as a presidential election. “There was a widespread belief that whoever got the job first wouldn’t make it.”
Richards also served as producer of Wheel of FortuneHe added: “Everyone was very angry, because it seemed as if he had walked into a room and chosen me. And that’s not what happens on television. But I understood that those were the external appearances.”
Finally, the details of Richards’ alleged treatment of a The price is good The pattern of an earlier discrimination lawsuit immediately resurfaced.
“One day I was a host,” he said. “And then they called the anti-defamation league to investigate me.”
The investigation was prompted by a revelation in The ringerwhich details offensive comments regarding women, Jews and people with mental disabilities that he made in a podcast he hosted in 2013.
“I told them, I’ll answer anything. I am an open book, proud of what I have done. “I am proud of my record as a chief,” Richards said. “But by then, everyone was saying, ‘Oh, he’s a horrible person.’ “It was the price you pay for being thrust into the zeitgeist at a very inopportune time.”
Richards said she is finally talking about the experience to clear the air around her experience of being in the cultural storm.
“I feel like I can be a force for good in terms of having open and honest conversations. We can all disagree on many things. We can disagree about politics. We can disagree about who is the host Danger! We may not agree that we like a final. Danger! clue. And we should do it. But I felt like there was a rush to judgment, and a lot of people were happy to say, ‘I got you.'”
Since the firing, Richards continues to pitch game show concepts.
“If I hosted a show and someone asked me, ‘Would you be the host?’ I say, “Only if you think I’m the right man for the job.” I don’t care if you have someone else in mind,’” he said.
Richards adds that he has no regrets that the Jeopardy gig ultimately went to Jennings: “I always thought Ken was the guy.”