New ‘Jeopardy!’ Host, Mike Richards, Abruptly Quits

Mr. Richards was named as Alex Trebek’s replacement last week, but offensive and sexist comments he made on a podcast several years ago resurfaced. He will remain as executive producer.

Mike Richards, who was named the new host of “Jeopardy!” last week, is abruptly leaving the role at the beloved game show after a recent report resurfaced offensive and sexist comments he made on a podcast several years ago. Mr. Richards, who as the show’s executive producer helped oversee the search for Alex Trebek’s replacement — before he was named to the position, a decision that itself proved controversial — said on Friday in a staff memo that the controversy had made “clear that moving forward as host would be too much of a distraction for our fans and not the right move for the show.” “As such, I will be stepping down as host effective immediately,” Mr. Richards wrote.