In his Late Show monologue on Thursday, Stephen Colbert homed in on the recent drama over the selection of Mike Richards as the new co-host of Jeopardy!
It was recently reported that on a podcast recorded in 2013 and 2014 while he was an executive producer of The Price is Right, Richards made derogatory remarks about women, Jews, and Haiti. (This is in addition to previously reported harassment and discrimination allegations against him during his time on The Price Is Right.)
Colbert began by asking his audience if they wanted to hear about “the big story everyone is talking about right now, which continues to be the chaos surrounding the poorly handled regime change… over at Jeopardy!”
Colbert recalled how, following the death of longtime host Alex Trebek, the show welcomed a great number of guest hosts, only to settle on the show’s executive producer to permanently fill the role.
“Wow, what are the odds?” Colbert commented. “Exactly the same as me getting named Stephen Colbert Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive.”
The late-night host then delved into what Richards had said on his podcast. For instance, he asked his two co-hosts, who were younger women, whether they had ever taken nude photos of themselves—or as he put it, “Like booby pictures?”
“‘Booby pictures?’” Colbert mocked. “Is this the man about to become the host of America’s most beloved quiz show or a 12-year-old boy trying to sneak into an R-rated movie?”
In light of the unearthed comments, Richards, who is set to co-host Jeopardy! with actress Mayim Bialik, said that “it’s more than clear that my attempts to be funny and provocative were not acceptable, and I have removed the episodes.”
This amounted to an “interesting” apology, Colbert noted. He compared it to saying, “I know I drove drunk and plowed through your rose garden, and to prove I’m sorry, I recycled my empty liquor bottles.”
Colbert then segued into the actual big story everyone is talking about right now, saying, “Speaking of disastrous transitions: what is Afghanistan?”
