Mr. Richards, an skilled sport present host himself, was employed by Sony in 2019 from “The Worth Is Proper,” a drained franchise that Mr. Richards helped revive with Drew Carey as host. (Mr. Richards additionally auditioned for that internet hosting job.) He grew to become govt producer of “Jeopardy!” final 12 months, changing Harry Friedman, an under-the-radar determine who exercised near-complete management of this system over a 25-year tenure.
“Jeopardy!” is without doubt one of the extra worthwhile belongings in Sony’s American leisure portfolio, however choosing Mr. Richards because the host got here with an added monetary profit. As a comparatively obscure determine, he would command a smaller wage than better-known contenders like LeVar Burton or Anderson Cooper. Mr. Richards’s compensation as host and govt producer was believed to be considerably decrease than Mr. Trebek’s pay.
A section of “Jeopardy!” viewers and aspiring contestants has expressed dissatisfaction with the choice to maintain Mr. Richards as govt producer — some going as far as to re-evaluate their curiosity within the present due to his conduct.
“If it was sufficient to disqualify him from being host,” stated Jon Porobil, a 35-year-old “Jeopardy!” fan from Pittsburgh, “why isn’t it sufficient to disqualify him from being govt producer?”
Matt Cappiello, 34, has taken the “Jeopardy!” entrance check a number of instances, hoping to meet a lifelong dream of showing on the present. However due to the controversy over Mr. Richards, he’s now reconsidering.
“It tarnished the status of the present for me,” stated Mr. Cappiello, a copywriter who watches the present nightly from a bar in Brooklyn. “‘Jeopardy!’ is meant to be a celebration of data, and it’s being run by this man who’s the personification of ignorance.”
For all of the criticism, Mr. Richards does have some supporters.
Gwendolyn Osborne, a mannequin who labored on “The Worth Is Proper” for greater than 12 years and considers herself a pal of Mr. Richards, stated she was shocked to study his podcast feedback, saying they didn’t align together with his conduct as a boss. Opposite to the conduct alleged within the pregnancy-discrimination lawsuit, she recalled that Mr. Richards supported her when she returned to work from maternity depart, after which years later when she grew to become pregnant once more.
“I’ve reached out to him to inform him to proceed to imagine in his greatnesses, and that I do imagine that everyone is worthy of redemption,” she stated in an interview.