Mike Richards has stepped down as Jeopardy! host

The show will go back to guest hosts for the time being

Mike Richards accepts the Outstanding Game Show award for 'The Price is Right' onstage during the 45th annual Daytime Emmy Awards at Pasadena Civic Auditorium on April 29, 2018 in Pasadena, California.
(Image credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Mike Richards has announced he is stepping down as the host of Jeopardy! in a new memo.

The news comes a week after Richards and Mayim Bialik were announced the face of the new program. Two days ago, the new host of Jeopardy! came under fire for past sexist remarks, which were unearthed by The Ringer.

Production for the show had started Thursday, meaning that some episodes for the upcoming season have already been taped with him as the host. In terms of a replacement for Richards, the game show will revert back to a rotation of guest judges for now. Richards will remain as the executive producer for the show though.

“It pains me that these past incidents and comments have cast such a shadow on Jeopardy! as we look to start a new chapter," Richards said in a Friday morning memo.

In this screenshot released on June 25, Mike Richards accepts the award for Outstanding Game Show for Jeopardy! during the 48th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards broadcast on June 25, 2021.

(Image credit: Daytime Emmy Awards 2021 via Getty Images)

According to his memo, Friday’s tapings for Jeopardy! have been canceled, and instead, the show will start searching for a new permanent host.

“[Sony] will now resume the search for a permanent syndicated host. In the meantime, we will be bringing back guest hosts to continue production for the new season, details of which will be announced next week," Richards continued in the memo.

Rylee Johnston

Rylee is a U.S. news writer who previously worked for woman&home and My Imperfect Life covering lifestyle, celebrity, and fashion news. Before joining woman&home and My Imperfect Life, Rylee studied journalism at Hofstra University where she explored her interests in world politics and magazine writing. From there, she dabbled in freelance writing covering fashion and beauty e-commerce for outlets such as the TODAY show, American Spa Magazine, First for Women, and Woman’s World.