No one ever thought it would be easy to replace beloved Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, who passed away in late 2020 after a protracted battle with pancreatic cancer. But few people likely expected the process of selecting a new host for the long-running game show would turn into the omnishambles it has become. On Thursday night, Stephen Colbert weighed in on the now-controversial decision to name Mike “Who?” Richards as Trebek’s successor—and seemed particularly suspicious of the fact that Richards has spent the past year working as Jeopardy!’s executive producer and, according to The New York Times, “initially led the hunt for Mr. Trebek’s replacement.”
“During their search, the show tried out everyone from friend of the show Anderson Cooper to friend of the show LeVar Burton to friend of the show Katie Couric to Dr. Oz. Which is why people were a bit surprised when, in the end, as their permanent weeknight host, the executive producers of Jeopardy! selected executive producer Mike Richards. Wow! What are the odds? Exactly the same as me getting named Stephen Colbert Magazine’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive.’”
As if the professional nepotism wasn’t enough, it didn’t take long for the media to dig up a string of troubling remarks made by Richards over the years, with Colbert noting that “women, Jews, and Haiti” have been among the targets of Richards’ not-so-funny humor (if it can be called that). Colbert pointed to one specific incident where Richards, while co-hosting a podcast with two younger women, asked the women if they had ever taken nude photos of themselves and actually said: “Like boobie pictures?” Which is where Colbert lost it:
“Boobie pictures?’ Is this the man about to become the host of America’s most beloved quiz show or a 12-year-old boy trying to sneak into an R-rated movie?”
Enough examples of bad behavior have been dragged up that some insiders are claiming Sony is allegedly having second thoughts about moving ahead with Richards’ new role. Or, as Colbert put it: “Looks like Richards’ job might be in jeopardy!”
You can watch the full clip above.
(Via Daily Beast)