Ousted 'Jeopardy!' host exits as executive producer of the show

• Mike Richards will exit as a producer of "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune," Sony executive Suzanne Prete said in a note to staff.
• Richards was tapped to host "Jeopardy!" but stepped down after past controversies resurfaced.
• Prete said Richard would exit as executive producer of the programs after 'internal difficulties' occured.

Mike Richards - who stepped down as the new host of "Jeopardy!" after past controversies and sexist comments resurfaced - has exited as executive producer of the popular syndicated game show, Sony executive Suzanne Prete said in a note to staff.

"We had hoped that when Mike stepped down from the host position at Jeopardy! it would have minimized the disruption and internal difficulties we have all experienced these last few weeks," Prete said in a memo seen by Insider. "That has clearly not happened."

The memo was first reported by BuzzFeed News' David Mack. Richards is also out as the executive producer of "Wheel of Fortune." Prete said gameshow producer Michael Davies would help with production on an "interim basis."

Even before Richards was named host of the long-running syndicated game show to succeed the late Alex Trebek, The Daily Beast reported he had been accused of harassment and discrimination during his decade-long tenure as a producer on "The Price is Right, as Insider previously noted.

He joined the show as a producer last year.

The Ringer also reported that Richards had repeatedly used offensive and disparaging language to describe women on his podcast "The Randumb Show," which he hosted from 2013 to 2014. According to the report, in one episode Richards said one-piece swimsuits make women look "frumpy and overweight."

One another episode he asked a woman if she had taken "booby pictures" while he discussed the 2014 iCloud hack that leaked young female celebrities' personal photos and videos, according to The Ringer.

Richards apologized for the comments following the publication of The Ringer article.

"It is humbling to confront a terribly embarrassing moment of misjudgment, thoughtlessness, and insensitivity from nearly a decade ago," he said. "Looking back now, there is no excuse, of course, for the comments I made on this podcast and I am deeply sorry."

He stepped down as host of Jeopardy! on August 20.