Via "What I'm Hearing..." which is an email blast from an ex-Hollywood Reporter editor + entertainment lawyer, which has been reliably scooping news a day or two before they go public:
Newsletter link:
http://whatimhearing.news/matt-belloni/
As there's no direct link to this week's newsletter, I can't actually link to content--so it's below.
> Internal pressure is building on Sony Pictures Entertainment C.E.O. Tony Vinciquerra over the selection of Mike Richards as host of Jeopardy!. Taping for the new season began today, and a source close to the production told me the atmosphere is beyond awkward on the Culver City set after The Ringer published excerpts of Richards’ misogynistic and anti-Semitic comments from his old podcast. People are pissed.
> Vinciquerra picked Richards after a bake-off among everyone from Aaron Rodgers to Robin Roberts to Ken Jennings (I thought Jennings was a shoo-in). The thinking was that Richards had survived the initial controversy, centered on his role in multiple lawsuits and the perception among some that, as executive producer of the show, he had put his thumb on the scale as Sony evaluated candidates to replace Alex Trebek. After all, Twitter is not the Jeopardy! audience, which is older and presumably less sensitive to skeletons in a host’s closet.
> But the Ringer piece by Clare McNear, author of a Jeopardy! book, resurfaced troubling comments, like Richards obsessing about women’s bodies and calling C.E.S. models “hos” and “sluts.” Sony’s response—that it didn’t know about the 41 episodes of the podcast—also raised questions about Vinciquerra’s vetting process for such a high-profile and beloved role. He and the Sony team are now said to be monitoring the fresh reactions. He still wants to keep Richards, but if the backlash overwhelms the show—or, presumably, if fingers start pointing more directly at Vinciquerra himself—don’t be surprised if he makes a change. (Sony declined to comment.)
