Mike Richards, who was recently named the new host of Jeopardy! will be stepping down from his post effective immediately due to offensive comments he made on his podcast, USA Today reports.
In a letter written to the show's executive team obtained by USA Today, Richards said he was "stepping down as host effective immediately" and added the production for the day would be cancelled.
While serving as the executive producer of the popular game show, it was announced on Aug.13 that Richards would succeed Alex Trebek as the permanent host of the nightly syndicated show and Mayim Bialik was selected to host primetime specials and tournaments on ABC.
On Thursday, The Ringer reported that Richards routinely made several sexist comments about women's bodies, as well as classist, racist and anti-Semitic remarks.
In a conversation recorded on his The Randumb Show podcast from 2014, Richards inquired if his co-host, Beth Triffon, ever took nude photos of herself.
"Answer it right now to your fans," Richards told Triffon. "Have you?" Triffon responds that she hasn't but Richards pressed the point saying, "Yes you have."
When Triffon says she's taken "cute pictures of myself," Richards asks, "Like boobie pictures?"
When his past comments surfaced, Richards apologized for his remarks in a statement to Entertainment Weekly.
“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."
With Richards’ exit from the show, Sony Pictures Television will begin a new search for a host and will be bringing back a rotation of celebrity guests for hosting duties.