Former Jeopardy! executive producer Mike Richards still has one friend in Hollywood. Price is Right host Drew Carey was seen stepping out with Richards for some breakfast in L.A. this week. TMZ reports the two spent a couple of hours eating at Swingers in Hollywood on Beverly Blvd.
Neither celebrity spoke with the outlet regarding what was discussed over food, but it’s likely that the outing served as a nice reprieve from Richards’ ongoing Jeopardy! controversy. As previously reported, the former EP is said to have retained the legal assistance of Bryan Freedman as he preps for a legal battle with Sony Pictures Television over his recent firing. The studio reportedly was left with no option, but to ask for Richards’ resignation after many complaints from staff as well as Jeopardy! fans. The added stress and possible future trouble the overall incident left on Richards could put him in place to come out of negotiations with a significant paycheck from Sony.
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Things became tense for Richards after he was announced as the new permanent host of Jeopardy!, taking over the role from legendary host Alex Trebek. It wasn’t long before Richard’s past came back to haunt as some of his controversial statements regarding several marginalized groups resurfaced along with news of his involvement in a sexual harassment lawsuit. Richards resigned from the role, giving a lengthy statement at the time.
“It pains me that these past incidents and comments have cast such a shadow on Jeopardy! as we look to start a new chapter,” he wrote in his statement. “As I mentioned last week, I was deeply honored to be asked to host the syndicated show and was thrilled by the opportunity to expand my role. However, over the last several days it has become clear that moving forward as host would be too much of a distraction for our fans and not the right move for the show. As such, I will be stepping down as host effective immediately. As a result, we will be canceling production today.”
Sony initially wanted to keep him on in his EP role on both Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune at the time. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out in Richards’ favor. Richards and Carey have been friends for quite some time. Richards used to be an executive producer on The Price is Right, working with Carey for a while.
