In his apology note, the former host of ‘The Pyramid’ declares that his past comments referring to women and people with mental disabilities on ‘The Randumb Show’ podcast are ‘not acceptable.’
AceShowbiz –Mike Richards has come under fire for his old offensive jokes. After his past sexist remarks from “nearly a decade ago” resurfaced online, the new host of “Jeopardy!” issued a public apology.
“It is humbling to confront a terribly embarrassing moment of misjudgment, thoughtlessness, and insensitivity from nearly a decade ago,” the 46-year-old TV personality said in a statement to The Ringer published on Wednesday, August 18. “Looking back now, there is no excuse, of course, for the comments I made on this podcast and I am deeply sorry.”
Mike continued to explain that his past comments were actually a joke. “The podcast was intended to be a series of irreverent conversations between longtime friends who had a history of joking around,” he said. “Even with the passage of time, it’s more than clear that my attempts to be funny and provocative were not acceptable, and I have removed the episodes.”
The former host of “The Pyramid” went on to vow to do better. “My responsibilities today as a father, husband, and a public personality who speaks to many people through my role on television means I have substantial and serious obligations as a role model, and I intend to live up to them,” he concluded.
In several episodes of “The Randumb Show” podcast which he co-hosted from 2013 to 2014, Mike, who is also an executive producer on “Jeopardy!”, made crude comments about women while hosting the podcast that was meant to take a behind-the-scenes look at “The Price Is Right”.
In one episode, Mike said one-piece swimsuits made women “look really frumpy and overweight,” encouraged co-host Beth Triffon to audition for Taiwanese roles because she’s short and said, “Ixnay on the ose-nay. She’s not ew-Jay,” during a discussion about big noses. He also referred to his female assistant as a “booth ho” in reference to her past work as a model at CES and used harsh terms for little people and people with mental disabilities.
Mike also asked Beth whether she had ever “taken a nude photo” of herself. When she remarked that she had taken “cute pictures of herself,” he responded, “What does that mean? Like booby pictures?”
On August 11, Mike was announced as the new host of the long-running game show. The California native will take over for the late Alex Trebek, who died in November 2020 after battling pancreatic cancer.
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