Report: Mike Richards barred Ken Jennings and Buzzy Cohen from attending his debut Jeopardy! taping -- after meeting with staff airing their grievances

The New York Times

Before stepping down this morning as Jeopardy! host, Richards presided over an "emotional morning meeting" with staff on Thursday, hours before taping his first five episodes, according to The New York Times' Michael R. Grynbaum. "In an emotional morning meeting with Mr. Richards, crew members aired their grievances and disappointment over his past behavior, which they worried would hurt the reputation of the show, according to two people familiar with the meeting who spoke on condition of anonymity because the internal Jeopardy! discussions were sensitive," reports Grynbaum. "And a fresh incident on Thursday involving Mr. Richards further roiled some of the show’s staff. A group of Jeopardy! loyalists had gathered for a ceremony to rename the show’s studio after (Alex) Trebek, including Mr. Trebek’s widow, his children and Anthony Vinciquerra, Sony Pictures Entertainment’s chief executive. Mr. Richards and (fellow new Jeopardy! host Mayim) Bialik were there, along with two of the other contenders for the hosting job, the former contestants Buzzy Cohen and Ken Jennings, according to three people familiar with the incident, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Afterward, the people said, Mr. Cohen and Mr. Jennings had expected to attend Mr. Richards’s debut taping. Instead, they were escorted from the sound stage to a nearby green room, where they watched the taping over a closed feed. They were told that Mr. Richards was too nervous to have them in the studio, the people said. One of the people likened it to inviting Joe DiMaggio back to Yankee Stadium and then not letting him in the dugout. Sony said that access to the taping was restricted because of pandemic protocols limiting the number of people in the studio. Mr. Vinciquerra did not attend the taping, either." ALSO: Dictionary.com trolls Richards after his exit.