‘Jeopardy!’ Champ James Holzhauer Couldn’t Be Happier About Mike Richards’ Exit (And He Explains The Real Reason For His Beef)

Mike Richards’ tenure at Jeopardy! is now officially (and fully) over, not only as new host but as executive producer. That decision followed not too far behind an exhaustive report from Claire McNear (of The Ringer) that detailed Richards’ history of troubling (often sexist and bigoted) comments. In the aftermath of the latest Richards announcement, plenty of people celebrated the news, but perhaps no one was happier than Jeopardy! champ James Holzhauer.

Holzhauer, of course, has already been quite vocal on the Richards controversy, with him initially calling out how the show disregarded “the three obvious candidates” before deciding that Richards was “the winner.” Well, Richards isn’t winning any longer, and once he heard the news, Holzhauer immediately tweeted a “Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead” GIF. No subtlety there!

— James Holzhauer (@James_Holzhauer) August 31, 2021

He added, in tribute to Claire McNear, a spin on a popular meme: “My Fall Plans/The McNear Variant.” Oh boy.

— James Holzhauer (@James_Holzhauer) August 31, 2021

Later, though, and after some users asked him to explain why he felt so strongly that Richards wasn’t the right choice for the gig. The champ tweeted that although many people have judged Richards based upon McNear’s report and “formed a negative opinion” about his podcast comments, Holzhauer’s feelings were based upon personal experience. “I judged him by the way he treated people backstage at Jeopardy and formed a much stronger negative opinion,” explained Holzhauer. Fair enough.

— James Holzhauer (@James_Holzhauer) September 1, 2021