Danger! Elders feel betrayed, say ousted host Mike Richards sabotaged Show

The unraveling saga surrounding who will succeed the late Alex Trebek as host of the game show Danger! remains an endless fiasco. Basically, whoever takes the job is preparing for failure (including incoming interim host Mayim Bialik). The fall of Mike Richards still an executive producer on the show as a very short-lived host was quick, with the EP firing from the show after past allegations of harassment and racism surfaced. In a new report from The Daily Beast, some former champions say Richards intentionally sabotaged the show.

It’s like looking in the mirror and shooting yourself in the face. You can’t intentionally sabotage a show worse than that, said 11-time champion Arthur Chu.

More IndieWire

Chu described Richards as another problematic showbiz guy with a high paying job behind the camera.

Danger! Former student Anneke Garcia also told The Daily Beast that Richards was getting ready to take on a host role, he was just a show business guy doing what he wanted instead of finding the best person. to replace Trebek.

Five-time champion Kristin Sausville said: I think the main feeling in the community right now is: betrayed.

When her episodes first aired and positive comments started pouring in, Garcia told The Daily Beast that she felt so validated for being a nerd all my life and doing something right with it. , we read in the story. After the news from Richards, it was like, Oh wait, just kidding.

Sausville believes Richard’s misogynistic comments could have a chilling effect on the future of the series.

Danger! was a show we all wanted to be a part of our entire lives, Sausville said. We were confident when we showed up on set that we were going to be treated as equals and treated with respect, and we were.

The story continues

Before Richards’ shot, a Ring report shed light on the sexist and offensive comments Richards made towards the female co-hosts, as well as the racist remarks, while hosting The Randumb Show podcast in 2013 and 2014. Richards then apologized and podcasts have been removed. The podcast was intended to be a series of irreverent conversations between longtime friends who used to joke. Even over time, it’s more than clear that my attempts at humor and provocation weren’t acceptable, and I deleted the episodes, Richards said in a statement at the time.

People don’t realize, Chu said, that the behind-the-scenes stuff is as important as the on-camera stuff.

The best of IndieWire

Sign up for Indiewire Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.