Why Mike Richards faces a backlash on “Jeopardy!” concert

You knew the backlash was coming.

With “Jeopardy! Executive producer Mike Richards emerging as the apparent frontrunner to replace the late Alex Trebek as longtime quiz host, three lawsuits alleging gender discrimination and harassment while he was at “The Price Is Right” are back. spotlights.

Rumors that Richards was in advanced talks to become the “Jeopardy!” The permanent host appeared this week as the competition from top names including Mayim Bialik, favorite fan LeVar Burton and others wore off. Discussions on the permanent host are said to be ongoing.

A new review of the 46-year-old producer’s legal entanglements comes despite his dismissal as a defendant in one of the lawsuits. The other two were settled out of court. All of them were dropped off by models who worked on the TV show “The Price Is Right”, where Richards served as co-executive producer and then executive producer from 2008 to 2018, before moving on to “Jeopardy!” The lawsuits were filed between 2008 and 2011.

A risk ! Representative declined to comment Friday on behalf of the show and Richards.

The actions were filed against several defendants, including “Price Is Right” producer Adam Sandler and production company Fremantle Media, now known simply as Fremantle. (Sandler has no connection with the “Happy Gilmore” actor who shares his name.)

According to the Hollywood Reporter, in 2010, model Shane Stirling sued producers for unfair dismissal, alleging that she was wrongly fired in 2008 after returning from maternity leave. That case was dropped in 2012 after Stirling struggled to provide sufficient evidence to prove his claims and the judge ruled the statute of limitations had expired.

Also in 2010, model Brandi Cochran sued for unfair dismissal, alleging she had less work after telling producers she was pregnant with twins. She said she didn’t want to reveal her pregnancy because she was afraid of being fired. One of her twins died in miscarriage while the other was born three months prematurely and had health problems. Cochran said producers had sent her mixed signals about whether she could return to work; then she found out that she had been fired.

A jury initially awarded Cochran more than $ 8 million, but the judge dismissed that and ordered a new trial after ruling that the jury was given incorrect instructions. The parties reached an amicable settlement in 2016.

Finally, Lanisha Cole filed a lawsuit in 2011, alleging unfair dismissal, retaliation, sexual harassment and more. Cole said in his court record that in 2009, six years after her stint on the show, Richards began to treat her differently from other models and refused to speak to her directly, causing her “great uncertainty” as to to its performance. She linked the change to the fact that Richards began a personal relationship with fellow model “Price” Amber Lancaster in early 2009, according to the lawsuit.

Cole also alleged that Sandler broke into a dressing room in September 2010 while wearing only a thong and berated her for not wearing a microphone on set – something she did. said was not unusual among models in the series due to the logistics of the costume change.

She was told shortly after that she couldn’t work for a full week because she had had a family dispute one day of the week, according to the lawsuit, with producers citing policies that did not exist before. The model felt she had no choice but to stop, according to the file.

Along the way, Richards was dismissed from his duties as a defendant and the case was settled out of court in 2013.

Finding a replacement for Trebek has been one of the most watched decisions on television since the show’s longtime host died of pancreatic cancer in November 2020.

“The host of ‘Jeopardy!’ is one of the main representatives of broadcast television, ”Ted Harbert, a longtime ABC and NBC television executive, told the Los Angeles Times in January.

“The next host will uphold the legacy of a national institution.”