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Description

How did ‘Jeopardy!’ go from America’s favorite game show to America’s favorite shit show? This week on I’m Sorry, hosts Hoja, Mohanad, and Kiki discuss the man behind the mess: Mike Richards. Who is he? Where did he come from? And why didn’t SONY listen to his podcast before hiring him? They unpack the swift rise and fall of Richards, and take their pick for who should host in his wake. Plus, the introduction to our new segment, Sorry Not Sorry, in which our hosts spill who they need to apologize to this week – or better yet – who needs to apologize to them.

Please note, I’m Sorry contains mature themes and may not be appropriate for all listeners.

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For additional resources, information, and a transcript of the episode, visit lemonadamedia.com.

Transcript

SPEAKERS

Kiki Monique, Mohanad Elshieky, Hoja Lopez

Hoja Lopez  00:14

I’m Kiki Monique. And this is I’M SORRY, a podcast about apologies. And this week I realized that at least once a month, I have to Google Dylan McDermott, and Dermot Mulrooney. Just to get a face with the name and get my bearings.

Mohanad Elshieky 

I don’t know who these people are, but I know who I am. This is one Mohanad Elshieky and again, this week, we watched Law and Order, which I famously do every day.

Hoja Lopez

And I’m Hoja Lopez, and I lost my favorite handkerchief this week, and I held a small funeral for it inside of my head as I peed, then I hope that that’s okay with you.

Mohanad Elshieky 

Thank you.

Hoja Lopez

Today we are going to be talking about Mike Richards and the Jeopardy situation. I am so excited to bring this up. Because I have a very meager history with jeopardy. I don’t know how you guys haven’t learned about jeopardy. But the only time I ever really interacted with Jeopardy is when Fran Drescher was on it for the nanny on an episode of the nanny. Do you guys know about this at all? Well, that’s how immigrant people come to know American culture as we know one thing about it, and then in that one TV show, a world opens up to us.

Hoja Lopez 

Oh, interesting. I mean, like, I grew up in a Black house. And so and I grew up in the south, like, even though I spent most of my time in New York, I grew up in the south. And in Black houses, it’s like every night at seven o’clock. First you watch Wheel of Fortune, then you watch Jeopardy. It’s just what you do. And normally, I did it with like a divided plate in front of me like a TV dinner or some divided plate. And that’s how we did.

Mohanad Elshieky 

Like, I watched Jeopardy growing up in Libya, but because of the time difference and everything, I don’t know what time Jeopardy airs here in the US. But I remember it was like maybe at like 6am or 7am there’s like Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy and like some other stuff. And I remember I just like watch so many of it. And I was like I did that only in the summer, obviously, because that’s when I was doing the thing. I’m like, I can stay up until like sunrise. And there’s only reason I watched I didn’t wake up to watch it. But it was there.

Hoja Lopez  02:28

I just kind of like saw it through the site guys like it’s been on so many TV shows other people talking about it. There’s like Black Jeopardy on SNL. But I truly had never really like sat down and realize like what a huge deal it is to people. And all of those shows like The Price Is Right. All these sort of like daytime Americana shows that have like host after hosts. I just as an adult started realizing how important these things were to Americans. Oh, okay. I do know this one show for them. But what is the show that Leslie Jones is now hosting, but it was like you ran around with a shopping cart in a grocery store.

Hoja Lopez 

Supermarket Sweep. Yeah, I wanted to be on Supermarket Sweep so bad. That was one of the greatest game shows ever.

Hoja Lopez 

That’s the one that I used to watch what I was like a kid in Venezuela and was like, you get to go to a grocery store. Anything you want in a cart? America is the greatest place on Earth.

Mohanad Elshieky 

I know, I know, you watch the shows, like this place is, is amazing.

Hoja Lopez 

Did you have like some kind of feeling when Alex Trebek passed away? Like what was your? Like? What were your thoughts around that? Because I was like, Oh, that was a sweet looking old man. But I didn’t have like this emotional attachment. You know,

Mohanad Elshieky

I think I don’t know. Like, I think maybe that attachment grew when I’ve learned that he was sick. Because like, he didn’t just like die. He like he was sick. We kind of like knew that day was coming. And I felt like when that happened, when he was diagnosed, it became like one of those things where you’re like, you feel like part of your childhood is soon to be gone. So can like that kind of like, amplifies the feeling of how you like feel about the show and feel about him. And I think that really is why people are like, so like, I’m not gonna say obsessed, but like really, like, really following the news around it. Because like, the past year, especially, I feel like we all grew that attachment to it.

Hoja Lopez  04:22

Yeah, I mean, he’s an icon. So the moment I found out he was sick, I was devastated. I mean, I remember as a kid on the playground, you know, talking with my friends being like, I mean, if Alex Trebek wasn’t hosting Jeopardy, they would just have to end the show. I remember having this conversation because he is that iconic and that important to Jeopardy? So yeah, the minute I found out he was sick, I was devastated. And, you know, when they started looking for guests, or you know, looking for hosts, you know, I, I couldn’t even wrap my head around who it would be.

Hoja Lopez 

Yeah, I agree to I think it’s like people are so attached to the lore of the show. And it’s so like, wholesome and sweet that I think people are like, please don’t ruin it.

Hoja Lopez

I think that’s why this like whole scandal around Mike Richards made it even so much dirtier because Jeopardy really is like it feels like that last pure, just like wholesome. It is authentic entertainment. There is no shortcuts, there is no cheating line like either, you know, Jeopardy and you can get on Jeopardy and you can pass the test to get on Jeopardy, or he can’t and like that’s what made it so dirty.

Hoja Lopez 

Well, just to really talk about kind of like the whole Mike Richards situation. My sort of like, I’ll say it impression of him kind of leading up to the show. I’m like, oh, okay, they’re gonna make like an executive producer of the show who’s already working on the show. Host, It seems like, like a weird conflict of interest, but I’m not sure I wasn’t really kind of fully investigating and then sort of like the slow drip of stuff starts coming out. And so for me, I’m like, Who is this guy? Okay, first of all, like, who is Mike Richards? I have no idea. So I kind of went on a deep dive. But in terms of like, what you guys discovered, like, what did you find interesting about Mike even just beforehand.

Mohanad Elshieky  06:11

I mean, interesting. There is nothing interesting about this man.

Hoja Lopez 

He really does look like standard frame man. Like his faces in the frame before you before you put your own picture in it kind of guy. You know,

Mohanad Elshieky  06:26

literally, he looks like if someone was like, if you asked like, a bunch of aliens TO draw what they think like a TV host would look like can you show them like what we have now from late night and all of that they would like put it together and just like, give me what you think a man like this would look like that would be my creatures.

Hoja Lopez 

When you say that actually. I remember a toy I had as a kid. I think it was called something like Mr. Game Show. And it was a like a plastic figurine that on the thing, it would ask questions. And I bet if I looked it up, it looks like Mike Richards it looks exactly

Hoja Lopez 

like yeah, like attractive, but not like devastatingly handsome, smart, but sort of like, has this sort of like a 2% nerdy vibe to him. And definitely like I feel like he’s just in my mind what I see him as is like this corporate kind of like Sony guy. Like he’s just kind of coming up in the ranks.

Mohanad Elshieky

You look like God created him on like, a very busy day, like was just like, hey, guys, you know what? A mouse and eyes and like stuff look like? Can you just like build one and just send it like this family needs a kid.

Hoja Lopez 

Like cookie cutter could model for Abercrombie. But all the high labels would be like, no, you’re not weird enough for us, you know? Yeah. I also realize that he worked as an intern for the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. On your favorite man on earth, Mohanad.

Mohanad Elshieky 

Very cool. Now that explains it.

Hoja Lopez

And then he kind of goes on, which is my favorite part is to kind of host like a slew of all these different sort of like reality, or kind of competitions, sort of games. So he goes on WB and is like doing a reality show called High School Reunion which he hosts then he hosts like, Beauty and the Geek. Do you guys know Beauty and the Geek.

Hoja Lopez  08:13

Yeah very much so.

Hoja Lopez 

I love that show. It was bad for everyone. Let’s be honest.

Mohanad Elshieky 

There was a time where every reality TV show in the past was just like, you look at it now. I’m like, this is insane. Like, how did they even pitch this?

Hoja Lopez 

It was the era of Ashton Kutcher. So it makes perfect sense. I mean, the fact that the beauties just couldn’t be smart. It was like, okay, you’re a beauty, it means you have to be dumb. And you’re a geek and it was like something out of Revenge of the Nerds. Like they might as well have pocket protector shirts like that just like cut and dry.

Mohanad Elshieky 

It’s an ugly category of like Wife Swap. And all of these shows, you know?

Hoja Lopez 

We’re like the swan, you know, like the makeover shows. That was crazy era in America.

Kiki Monique 

I love that time. I’ll be honest, I loved it.

Hoja Lopez 

This is another thing that I learned shortly after that, so he’s auditioned for the price is right to replace Bob Barker. So he clearly has like a, he wants this because like if you’ve been auditioning for these major shows since 2007, and you’re executive producing on it. Like he’s probably honestly wanted to host his entire life and has been doing this executive production stuff and behind the scenes stuff with like the vision of maybe actually hosting one of them someday.

Mohanad Elshieky

It’s insane. Because like he’s like, because I imagine him being behind the camera doing whatever like an executive producer does. And he sees the host on and the first thought that comes to his mind is I can do this, should be me. Like truly I need the level of confidence that man has, like I feel like if I get one rejection, I will just stop. But that man just kept going.

Hoja Lopez  10:03

Yeah. So he ends up getting like a production job with The Price is Right So he kind of goes up against Drew Carey, who famously at the end of it kind of gets the job. And I didn’t realize there was obviously anything behind the scenes with Drew Carey. I just was like, okay, Drew Carey is the new host. But apparently there’s this whole, there’s a whole rigmarole in the back of finding the right person. And then he ends up going to The Price is Right and he’s there for 11 seasons on one show. That’s insane to me. I mean, I don’t know how many years 11 seasons on The Price is Right is but I always like wonder, how can you work somewhere for that long, I’m a full-on Millennial. I’m like, after a year and a half to two years, your girl’s got to find new pastures to chomp on.

Hoja Lopez

Well, I just feel like TV in general, like that era of TV like even though it’s this era, but I just think that it hasn’t changed much like much of the old guard is still in place. And I think that when you get those jobs, it’s pretty cushy. Like, yeah, I’m sure it’s demanding. But I imagine a lot of those guys, for some reason, still going to lunch at like steak houses with cigars.

Mohanad Elshieky 

And I promise you he wasn’t doing much anyway. You know, like, I feel like you get to a level where you’re like, this is my job, and it’ll always have it. And I don’t have to do much. I’ll just have to hire people who will do all the work. And I’m just gonna sit there.

Hoja Lopez

Yeah, I mean, you’re so right. And he probably wasn’t doing much because the fact that he was able to start a podcast in his office, while he was doing his full-time job says a lot about how much you know, time is spent on his actual job.

Hoja Lopez 

I’m like, what, like all male improv troupe is this like, that’s kind of like..

Mohanad Elshieky

I mean, I’ll give him that, you know, like, he picked the right name. It is random. It is dumb. So good for him,

Hoja Lopez

Which it’s supposed to be like, some kind of like, the way they pitched it, or what I read was kind of that it was supposed to be a kind of behind-the-scenes sort of look into The Price is Right. Which is really, that actually sounds kind of interesting to me. But the more I heard the podcast, I was like, This is the mike Richards show, like the podcast is him, and his ex-assistant, and then his current assistant. So those are like the women that you’re hearing on the podcast, which to me is already like, bro, they’re not gonna say anything you’re saying is wrong. Like, they’re not gonna say shit to you. They’re just gonna laugh, like politely at whatever high jinks you come up with Mike Richards, and then they’re gonna go home. And that’s gonna be the end of it. You know? That’s

Mohanad Elshieky  12:32

the point, though. Right? Yeah. Like, yeah, for him. He knew that. And he wanted that he wanted just, he wanted to say whatever he wants. And like, I mean, you know, like he knew the power dynamics existed. And he wanted to keep them that way.

Hoja Lopez 

Yeah, he, I think at this point, too. It’s like he starts sort of like, he’s really at this point, like the executive producer after this for Jeopardy and wheel of fortune. So he’s sort of is like fully moving up. So I think that thing you said about him being like, cushy at a job is totally true. And when your cushy job you also like, make things up to do for yourself. You’re like, I would love to start a podcast for my company. Or, you know what? We should put like a soft drink machine inside of the bathroom, because I spent a lot of time in the bathroom. Like, that’s what happens when you’re at a very high level. Kiki is like, That is disgusting, but also real.

Hoja Lopez 

Well, no, because it’s like, clearly this podcast wasn’t like offering any sort of like, money because on one of the episodes, you know, his assistant was talking about how she was on unemployment. So clearly, he’s not making money from the podcast. He’s just doing this as a side project, maybe as a way to like get a sizzle reel so he can get more hosting gigs elsewhere.

Hoja Lopez 

Yeah, listening to it further. It’s not funny. It’s just boring.

Mohanad Elshieky 

It is probably one of the most uninteresting things ever, which again, I like, aligns with the way he looks at everything about him.

Hoja Lopez  14:02

Yeah, I mean, it’s like he took his like, it’s pretty much who he was as like, host of Beauty and the Geek and now he’s like, kind of become podcast for him. He’s just sort of like this overgrown frat guy who wants to talk about things that he thinks are edgy. But again, it’s coming from Mr. Game Show head. So to us, it’s just like, you’re just pretending to be kind of cool, but like nobody finds you charming. The girls in the room are only laughing because again, you like have more power than that. And that is why they’re laughing.

Mohanad Elshieky

Absolutely. Yeah. I mean when he made the remarks he made on the podcast, which I mean we can go through them like a lot of them were like sexist fat phobic and just like, like anti-Semitic anti-Asians. So like, he literally just like checked every box there is.

Hoja Lopez

Like, either one of the podcasts which honestly I laughed about this a lot this week, which is like Richards use the term huskadoo to refer to like a larger woman and I literally I was like, I got to own this, like, I saw that I just been singing huskadoo to the same beat as zannadoo. And I’m just like, then I went full on and watch the video of zannadoo where they’re all skating in some continuous mall. Just look it up. Look it up. It’s incredible.

Mohanad Elshieky 

There’s also this one where he just like he asked his co-host, which Kiki said it was his assistant would just like, ask her if she ever took a nude picture before, which is such a weird question to ask. And then he would like what are we talking about? Like boobies? Are we just like, what? Like, what?

Hoja Lopez

What if your boss ever says the word boobie to you. And also remember, they’re in his office, you’re sitting in his office alone..

Hoja Lopez 

Probably at Thursday at 7:30pm after work. This poor woman is just like, in a corner of bosses like, hey, do you want to just like stay and record this podcast will be already your like, red flag, red flag, red flag, get out. And the word boobies comes up and you’re like, fuck, I gotta go tell my friends about this later.

Hoja Lopez  16:07

And also because he can’t even say tits. Like if you’re gonna be vulgar. But boobie even makes it just creepier to be for some reason.

Mohanad Elshieky 

Exactly. I’m like, Why do you sound like you were born in like, 1920 or something? And this is the first time you ever talked to a woman?

Hoja Lopez

It would have been funny if he if he was like, so what are we talking about? Huge matches. Just mountains. What are we talking about? Are we talking mosquito bites? Are we talking? Bear miles? I don’t know why […] take away. They don’t give you more or less. I’m just I’m running through ideas here you guys. But yeah, it definitely just feels like shut up.

Hoja Lopez

Yeah, I mean, his whole view on life is just so elitist in classes. It’s like, you know, they’re talking about like, a dirty apartment. And he immediately goes like, Oh, do you live in Haiti, it’s like his association with things. It’s like, fat chicks equals bad, dirty, you know, equals, you must live, like, be poor and live-in like, you know, Haiti, it’s like, all of his thoughts on life. That’s just not something that changes overnight. It’s not something that’s just born overnight, like this is ingrained in him.

Hoja Lopez 

At this point, I feel like he’s sort of like accumulating these things that are later on are going to come bite him in the butt, because the show is getting these kind of specific lawsuits around, you know, some of the shows models and what they’re supposed to be, like doing during their pregnancy. And like, there’s a lot of sort of, like, nebulous things going on during The Price Is Right. And so, for me, it’s almost like, he’s sort of like, kind of, if you piece it together, I’m like, this is kind of like a shitty Hollywood dude. Like, just kind of like, the attachment with Sony, the forcing people to take less time off after their pregnancy. And then him being such a part of like, the leadership group that is ultimately like, kind of doing all this stuff. He’s slowly, just sort of like engaging in some shitty behavior kind of repeatedly over the years that he’s as at Price Is Right, you know?

Mohanad Elshieky  18:35

yeah. Also, like one thing that just like, you know, I came across when I was reading one of the articles, which was that he wanted the models on the prices right to look like they were going on a date. And eventually, the models were wearing bikinis. And I’m just like, what kind of dates What are you going on?

Hoja Lopez

I have a response to the spot because I think this is really funny. There is like a, like, I don’t know if it’s a handbook or like a book specifically, but it’s like one of those like, like dating books for men, it’s like a really fucked up shitty one. And one of the rules is, like, you know, like, take them to the beach on your first date, so you can catch a look at the goods before you fully date them. So maybe those are the kinds of dates that might..

Mohanad Elshieky 

I can’t imagine him reading a book about that. Probably like, this sounds like it was like a subreddit, honestly, about dating or dudes were just like, yeah, this is what you do. Make them wear bikinis.

Hoja Lopez 

No, I totally get that. And I wonder because I feel like this is like normal. In my mind, like this is normal Hollywood behavior and normal corporate behavior. Like I don’t feel like at this point, he’s any different than 80 of the other like, bosses that I’ve had or people that I’ve worked with that have been in his kind of like, executive producer position or VP of fuckin sales or whatever, like, there’s something familiar about him the way he operates, you know?

Mohanad Elshieky  20:09

And people like him still exist. I think the main difference is that these people know to keep in the shadows or just like, during the background, making those big decisions by thing that his face like fatal mistake was that he was like, wanted to be, like, in front of the camera, like wanted to be like the spotlight. And then that’s when like it came back to bite was like, I’m like, have you seen like, the even people who get like, you know, picked to be on SNL. The media goes through all of your tweets and podcast appearances and all of that, and you want to host probably like one of the most famous TV shows, and you thought no one was gonna do like a background check. Just because your company did not do it. You thought the internet was not going to do that.

Hoja Lopez 

I actually disagree, because I think it had nothing to do with the fact that he wanted to be on camera. I actually believe that like in the last year and a half, we made enough change about like, call out culture that in his like, he was fine. Doing what he did for all those years, because that was the culture, he knew that he was going to get this, this position as the host of Jeopardy, because that has been his entire career. He’s just moved up slowly. Because Sony again, Sony really saw him as like their puppet. They were like, Oso, he’s an extension of us. Perfect. And, you know, Jeopardy had been sort of autonomous for like 20 years, because it was so successful. Sony didn’t really have much saying what happened. But here they go, they have this opening, you know, Alec is gone. And you know, then the main showrunner retires, and so now they have this opening,, perfect. We can insert our puppet master into this situation. So he was like, I’m gonna get this job, no problem. What happened was, we the audience, got to see, you know, all of these appearances by all the other hosts. And we’re like, this isn’t right. And we call that out. So that’s what I kind of love about this was that they couldn’t get away with this.

Mohanad Elshieky  22:10

Exactly like, but like you said that there have been like changes in the culture. And I feel like as a company, you should be aware of that. Like, you should have people who are, you know, in, like, are aware of trends. I don’t want to I don’t want to call it a trend, just like people being more aware. But like, I just can’t imagine like companies like this that have like, millions and billions of dollars, not like paying someone to be like, hey, do you think this is right? Do you think we should do this?

Kiki Monique

We haven’t had the benefit of living with like white male privilege for all of our lives. Like, they have just been so used to like, doing whatever they do, like, you know, like […] says at a comedy show, like, they just be going to space on a Tuesday. They don’t even ask NASA like they just do whatever they want. They always have.

Mohanad Elshieky

Especially when like, everyone around you is just like, no, this is good. Yep, everyone thinks this is good. And you look around like everyone looks like you is saying, perfect.

Hoja Lopez 

There’s a sea of faces with like, a half-smile, just sort of like nodding up and down. You’ve been on the other side of that. I feel like we all have, and there is a part of you that’s like, I just don’t want to make any waves. Why am I gonna complain about this small thing? It’s not worth bringing it up this person. No, you’re

Mohanad Elshieky

right. Yeah, I mean, this, I guess, like, brings the issue of just like, you know, like, having diversity but like having it in like, if you have it in like the lesser roles, it doesn’t really do much better. Even if I think is wrong, I really can’t say anything. I don’t want to lose my job. And so I’m just gonna, like, keep rolling with it. If the boss thinks is right, it’s right. Whatever.

Hoja Lopez

Yeah. Which is why, you know, again, like all of these other lawsuits about women who said, you know, they were discriminated against or fired because they got pregnant like these. They’ve been piling up since The Price Is Right era, because there weren’t people behind the scenes like checking them. And so here we are now like, he’s like, about to like, go big with jeopardy. And it’s like, well, no, now your time has come now. We’re going to revisit all of that past that you did. And like, that’s the thing like, okay, people are like, well, how it’s in the past. Like, how far do you have to go back? Well, I mean, I think there’s like, you have to weigh like, okay, when did it happen? How atrocious was it? But also what have you done since then? And who are you now? Because it seems like the Mike Richards that exists today is still the same Mike Richards that existed in that time. So yeah, we’re gonna call it out.

Hoja Lopez  24:38

So Kiki, this is like sending off a lot of signals in my brain because this was a long time ago. Like, and I have really been thinking about like, you know, like Brett Ratner. Kevin Hart, […] like all these people. Blake Shelton, even Trevor Noah that tweeted things a really long time ago said things are very long time ago. And for me, I’m like, Is there an expiration date on these like, people do evolve? I’m not the same person I was 10 years ago but you feel like you can see the vestiges and you feel like Mike Richards really does still feel like the same person. And I threw a light bulb in my head that like, if he is a part of what we’ve been talking about, like the culture where that’s accepted, like it’s in his bones, you know what I mean? It’s like a part of who he is as a person. But I’m curious, like, what do you guys think? Is there a timestamp? Because this is gonna continue happening, you know, where people surface up tweets, that they you know, set a long time ago? I’m curious about your opinions on that.

Mohanad Elshieky

This has to be like case by case, you know, and I think it is, it’s harmful to just like, put them under, like, when people put them all under the same umbrella. I’m just like, but this person did this and that person, like, why are we not treating them the same? I feel like there are so many elements like, has that person changed? Do we think that they are a better person now? Did the apology sound sincere? Are they like taking any actions? Have they done any good work? Like, what have they been up to? You know?

Hoja Lopez  26:08

I just I was in that entertainment field for so long. And I’ve had to work for and with guys like him for so long. It’s just like, it’s just I know the type. Yeah. And I know that they haven’t changed. And so it just, it doesn’t, I don’t have hopes that he is a different person.

Mohanad Elshieky

Exactly. Even when they change, like, their perception to the public and stuff, like, behind the scenes that don’t really believe in us the thing I have to do now.

Hoja Lopez 

Yeah. Which is why like, not that I care less, but I do care slightly less about who the replacement is, like I do, you know, of course, we wanted to see to see it, you know, be a diverse hire, you know, if it can be if it’s the right fit, but I really care more about what is happening behind the scenes so that person in that position can carry out this legacy as they should So, you know, I know that they had a bunch of people come in, you know, they had, I was surprised by Aaron Rodgers, you know, who’s the quarterback for Green Bay. We had LeVar Burton, which was like a fan favorite. You know, everyone was really rooting for him. You know, I was really rooting for Robin Roberts, because I really like her and so obviously, and she did really well. Now we have Mayim Bialik who did get hired but only for like the, I guess the special episodes, you know, that they’re going to do every once in a while.

Hoja Lopez

Do you think that they were kind of on the fence about her? Do you think that that’s just her availability? Like what do you guys think?

Hoja Lopez

I think that again, I think that they always knew that they were gonna hire Mike Richards because they wanted to sweeten the deal and be like, add we’re gonna have Mayim because like, we got a woman in place. See how we do.

Mohanad Elshieky  28:00

I will say my personal favorite, obviously, I’m sure you guys liked it, too. is Dr. oz. Truly, what a true gentleman. What a phenomenal person.

Hoja Lopez 

He is a shining example, for all of us a beacon of hope in the dark, a glass of water in the desert.

Mohanad Elshieky 

When he hosted, I had a tear in my eye, you know, I was like, wow, I can actually do stuff I shouldn’t be doing and I’m not a good fit for. And he brings a voice to all of us, I’m like, I can be a bad person. Like not bad person. I can be bad at so many things and can still get these jobs. He was so bad at it. And he’s also a not a good person in general.

Hoja Lopez 

I feel like Ken Jennings obviously, you know, shouldn’t be the obvious pick for so many reasons. Like, it feels like a movie. Because like, here is the sky who like won all of these episodes. And then, you know, he started like being a consultant on the show. And like he really is someone even if you don’t watch Jeopardy regularly, you know who Ken Jennings is, and you just like, it’s like the story that the feel-good story, which is what Jeopardy is it’s like you can do it if you just work hard, which is like the antithesis of who Mike Richards is. And so it feels like he should be obviously the one that gets it. But I mean, who knows.

Hoja Lopez 

Who by the way, can actually in the Nielsen ratings, rated higher than Mike Richards did. He

Hoja Lopez 

was the only one out of all of the hosts that rated higher than Mike.

Mohanad Elshieky 

I’ve watched the episodes that he hosted and he was pretty good. He was like even when they do the, you know, after we come back from the break, and they talk to the contestants, he was like very fun and just like saying like, you know, it didn’t feel scripted. The humor like the jokes and like and all of it and he is very passionate about the show. He loves Jeopardy like he like, so excited to be there. And the other guests was like, they were great. Like, some of them like were amazing, like fun. But they made for a good guest host. You know, they were enjoying being on Jeopardy, but they’re not like passionate about the show, like someone like Ken Jennings is.

Hoja Lopez  30:21

Yeah. You also mentioned or talked about just the fact that like, there was something about Alex Trebek, where you kind of felt like he could kick your ass in jeopardy. Like there was something about Alex, where you always like, he probably knows the answer to this. And with Jennings, you know, he knows the answer to it. Like there’s something about somebody who is truly good at playing the game, which with Mike in particular is an actually like on quote saying that he is terrible at trivia, and answering questions. And not exactly a smarty pants about it, there’s just something about actually not caring about the information from Mike versus what jetting bring to the table, you know?

Mohanad Elshieky 

you don’t want someone to feel like they’re reading from the cards like, even though I know, like Alex didn’t know all the answers, but the way he delivers it, you just like he was ready with the answer right there. He knew it.

Hoja Lopez 

To finally arrive at the apologies. So Mike does come out and apologize. So I kind of want to go through them a little bit. So he apologizes to the staff kind of in some ways, he also has another apology that kind of goes out to the public. And he’s sort of saying, like, I’m gonna step out of this situation, because I don’t want to take attention away from the TV show. And I feel like this deserves to be kind of a pristine thing. But he also talks about being embarrassed he talks about people being able to see kind of like, these insensitive things that he’s been saying that while he’s grown as a person, he understands why they were offensive. But do you guys have thoughts on the apologies like, what vibe Are you getting from what he’s put out?

Mohanad Elshieky  32:26

To me, it was a corporate apology, it hit like right stuff. And like he addressed everything. Whether it’s sincere or not, honestly, no one can ever know that. Because we just can’t get into his heart or brain to figure that out.

Hoja Lopez

Yeah, but we never will be able to really with any.

Mohanad Elshieky

Yeah, exactly. No one can claim that they know what he meant it or not. So I’m not trying to, you know, pretend that I know.

Hoja Lopez 

You can always tell the companies that really have like, maybe not the strongest sort of like, HR department like the strongest diversity inclusion sensitivity team based on like, the apologies that come out. That one felt like very like basic, like somebody was like, just put these in and just send it and yeah.

Hoja Lopez 

Yeah, I like I mean, there’s part of it, that he sort of like describes each aspect of what he feels. Kind of went awry. So he does kind of fully go over the podcast, he definitely calls it an irreverent conversation, which I don’t like as much like, what is it about irreverence that makes people feel like they can punch down? I’m not sure if this apology is, is really good. I mean, I know he mentions being a father and kind of like, a shift from who he was at that time and who he is now. But honestly, the statement, it doesn’t feel to me like it actually addresses what actually happened and what he actually said.

Hoja Lopez 

And the sense it seems is that, yeah, the people there weren’t buying it either. And they thought that that apology was going to be enough, and they’d be able to work with him in this capacity. But clearly, the people who’ve been there said, No, just because he’s not host doesn’t mean I still want him to be my boss. I don’t want him around at any capacity. And I think the studio realized they had to get rid of him entirely, or they were going to have an entire staff that was probably going to leave, you know?

Hoja Lopez  34:21

I know, even going back to he made comments specifically about the assertions on the show about the pregnancy suits. And so just going back to that particular apology, it is sort of a defense of himself, which, you know, when I think about apologies in general, I think, should you be defending yourself in an apology or should it just be the apology because for this one in particular, I hear a lot of people going like, these comments in these actions do not actually reflect my character. They don’t reflect like the reality of who I am. Or I’m not that person. And that’s not who I am. And I find that it’s really hard to apologize without being defensive without trying to take away some of your accountability for what has happened, because I think it’s like a natural human thing to want to deflect.

Hoja Lopez 

And I’m going to tell you this, like when somebody approaches me because I’ve made a mistake, my first gut reptile reaction is like, not me. I did not do that. Are you kidding me? That was you, you are the what like, that is literally how I react when somebody is upset at me for something probably valid that I did. And I do have to like catch up to, again, like my values and catch up to like actually thinking about what this person is brought up. And I have a feeling that like, all of these celebrities and politicians are have the exact same reaction and their gut is to first deflect, and then they need time to actually sit down and think about it, which is why the fast apology is a bad idea. And this whole thing, like just reeks of you didn’t take enough time to think about it. And to put it out. Even if Sony Entertainment Television wrote it for you, you still take it.

Hoja Lopez  36:20

Yeah. And like, here’s the thing, like, they said that he you know, before they ended up just firing him, they said that they were going to put him through, you know, some sort of like, I think sensitivity training or what, you know, whatever that program was, now he’s fired. So I assume he’s not going to get that program, as a studio, if you truly did care about making change, regardless of whether you’re going to fire him, when you have put him through that anyways, like, it just seems like, oh, we’re gonna do this. And when they didn’t get the response they wanted, they were like, okay, fine, we’ll just fire and then will that make you happy? And it’s like, no, what would make me happy is if the people that you want in your organization, you truly did care if they had this sort of, you know, insight, this training this thought process. Yeah. And like it’s interesting also, in you know, when they talked about him being fired in this role, what they didn’t mention in the article was like, any possible payout, because we know when you know, Chris Harrison left the Bachelor.

Kiki Monique

Supposedly, like a five-figure payout. Now, I don’t know, I assume because of his, like you said overall deal with Sony, he probably got some sort of payout. But they don’t want to also mention that because here’s again, yes, he’s lost his job. And he’s lost his dream job, which was the hosting, but he isn’t really truly cancelled. The only people that are truly cancelled in this situation are all the women that he fired, or, you know, like, didn’t go on to do the career that they wanted to, because of that hostile environment. And those are the only people he’ll still be fine; he’ll probably get a payout. And he’ll move on to some, I don’t know, maybe he’ll retire who knows.

Mohanad Elshieky 

And hopefully, he himself learns something. I don’t know if he’s gonna keep working, like on TV or not. He said, he’s a father. Hopefully, he teaches his kids not to be douchebags like he was. So you know, we’ll see I’m hoping for a good outcome.

Hoja Lopez  38:03

Well, I’m even just laughing at the fact that the person who’s replacing him is also named Mike. Just want to be like, can we just get someone named I don’t know, Kiki, just anything else? You feel like you’ve made a change in any way. I don’t know. Yeah.

Hoja Lopez 

I hope that Jeopardy comes out on skates. Like I hope that even now that he’s not executive producer, and now that he’s not hosting it. I hope that we can go back to feeling it’s kind of pristine joy when it does come back.

Mohanad Elshieky 

Yeah, I hope so as well.

Mohanad Elshieky 

So now we come to my favorite segment, which is sorry, not sorry, where we each go one by one and talk about who owes us an apology this week. Or if we owe someone an apology?

Hoja Lopez 

Well, this week, I need an apology from the corner of my coffee table. Because not one, not two, but three times this week. I have mercilessly stubbed my toe on the same exact corner. And I’ll be 100% honest, I know it’s me. And it’s not the coffee table. Like I needed to look where I’m going. But I have a full-on vendetta to the point where I actually purchased a new coffee table. 100% I was like not me. I’m not the one, not today coffee table.

Mohanad Elshieky

Wait until you do it again with a new table and have your old table just stare at you and just be like, Hoja, it has been you this whole time. You should take the blame.

Hoja Lopez

That Mohanad is poetry. What you just said that is a true Shakespearean play.

Kiki Monique

This week, Bumble owes me an apology the dating app. I mean, I am single. I’m just trying to live my best life. And every time I put up a picture of myself in a bathing suit, you know everyone needs at least one thirst trap on their dating profile. Bubble keeps taking it down. And I don’t know why. They won’t let me be great. I just want my thirst trap. And so Bumble owes me an apology.

Mohanad Elshieky  40:06

What reason do they give you like is it like even like something vague?

Kiki Monique

They so I, they keep telling me I go against guidelines, you know, in my own head. I’m like, you just don’t like fat chicks, but that’s my own head. But they keep saying in the guidelines, things like, no topless photos inside of houses allowed, which is very specific, but also I’m not topless.

Mohanad Elshieky 

I love it when it’s like houses. But if you do it like in a yacht, or like, I don’t know, a hut somewhere, like that’s okay. But like, a house. Now that’s where they draw the line.

Kiki Monique 

And how do you know I’m inside?

Hoja Lopez 

I know, I wonder who these little Gremlins are that are off, like, looking at pictures of people on Bumble going like, nope, nope, nope. It’s probably an algorithm mixed in with a real person who sucks.

Hoja Lopez 

The Gremlin is the AI. And the AI does not want me to be great. Apparently.

Mohanad Elshieky 

You shouldn’t be in a house. That’s all I can say about it. This week, I actually owe someone an apology. Yes, I do. I do not even know the person’s name. To apologize to them by name. But I’ll say that. So yesterday, I ordered something using a delivery service. UberEats famously something I do all the time, because I cannot cook. And then I got a text from my driver saying that, hey, like I’m here. I can’t go to your apartment. There’s like no parking. Can you come down and get it like, okay, I’ll come down and get it myself. So I did. I walked down. There was this man waiting by the door. He was like you holding the bag. But I just took the bag from his hand and then just said, thank you and kept moving. Yeah, exactly. I mean, you know, that was an easy transaction. And then I looked into the bag, and I was like, this looks like groceries. Turns out he was just my neighbor. This man was just trying to get into his own building and just forgot his keys. And he thinks I’m a psychopath now, my driver did not even arrive to the building and I just took someone’s stuff and walked in.

Hoja Lopez  42:27

And slammed the door in his face.

Mohanad Elshieky 

Yeah. Yep, I did. I did do that. I just opened the door. I was like, thank you. He waved at me and he waved at me. So I opened the door for him. And I was just like, okay. And he did not fight me like he did not like was like, he wasn’t like, what are you doing? He would just like gave it to me.

Hoja Lopez 

Maybe he thought you were helping him with the groceries and then you just walk away from him.

Hoja Lopez 

You once you realize it was like did you turn back around and hand them back to him?

Mohanad Elshieky 

Yeah, I turned around and I was like, I don’t think this is mine. And he was like, yeah. yeah, yeah, they’re mine. Yeah. So I’m sorry, whoever you are. Apartment 1102 or whatever. Who knows if you’re listening to this? You know, I apologize.

CREDITS

I’M SORRY is a Lemonada Media Original. The show is produced by Alex McOwen, supervising producer is Kryssy Pease. Our executive producers are Stephanie Wittels Wachs and Jessica Cordova Kramer. Our mix is by Kat and theme music was composed by Xander Singh. If you like this show, please rate and review. And please don’t cancel us. You can find out more about our show at @LemonadaMedia on all social platforms, or follow us on Instagram at @imsorry_podcast. We’ll be back next week and until then be nice, play fair and always say I’m sorry. Thanks for listening!