Culver City, California – In a wild turn of events for America's wholesome TV trivia show, Sony Pictures Television confirmed that executive Mike Richards has stepped aside after being named the new host of Jeopardy.

That was a quick stint!

Mike Richards had taped just one day as the host of Jeopardy before losing the coveted title.

In a statement on Friday, the 46-year-old said the backlash and scandal he's become embroiled in has created "too much of a distraction for our fans and [is] not the right move for the show."

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Although Richards is stepping down as host, he will keep his position as executive producer of the game show.

Last week, Jeopardy announced its decision to choose not one but two hosts to succeed longtime host Alex Trebek after his death in November.

After testing out 15 guest hosts over the last seven months, Sony passed on the torch to Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune's executive producer Mike Richards as its daily host, and actor Mayim Bialik for spinoff specials.

The decision was widely panned by fans and met with outcry. They criticized Mike Richards for not only appearing to "give himself the job" while already working as the show's top dog, but also for having a seedy past.

Now, it has come back to haunt him.

On Thursday, the Anti-Defamation League called for an investigation into growing public claims and reports of Richard's offensive remarks on a podcast he hosted, The Randumb Show, in 2013.

The league cited Richard as having made "disparaging remarks about Jews, women, and Asians." Examples of Richards calling women "s--ts," body shaming, and using derogatory terms for several marginalized groups surfaced.

It has also come to light that Richards was accused of pregnancy discrimination in two bias lawsuits filed by former models on The Price Is Right, another game show he produced. Last week, host Drew Carey and multiple employees came to Richard's defense, and the exec said the complaints did not reflect his character.

Sony said they were "surprised" to learn of Richards' past podcast and his "offensive language" this week.

In response, the host apologized for the "terribly embarrassing moment of misjudgment, thoughtlessness, and insensitivity from nearly a decade ago" and confirmed he had removed the episodes.

But it wasn't enough.

"We support Mike’s decision to step down as host," Sony said on Friday.

"It pains me that these past incidents and comments have cast such a shadow on Jeopardy as we look to start a new chapter," Richards wrote in a memo to his team as he relinquished his new title. "I know I have a lot of work to do."

More fuel was added to the fire this week as video footage resurfaced of Alex Trebek and what appeared to be his wishes for his Jeopardy legacy – one that the show's network seems to have gotten very wrong.

When asked in a 2018 interview by TMZ's Harvey Levin who he thought would be "a good, solid host of the show" if he retired, Trebek suggested CNN Senior Legal Analyst Laura Coates.

An uproar of fans wondered why Trebek's opinion hadn't been honored, and why Coates was not even given the opportunity to guest host as the show tried out new potentials.

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In what seemed a nod to her name swirling amidst the hosting controversy, Coates tweeted a post on Wednesday of what she called one of her favorite quotes from the legendary host.

"Don’t tell me what you believe in," Trebek's quote read. "I’ll observe how you behave and I will make my own determination."

Could it have been a jab at Richards' questionable behavior – or perhaps at the decisions of the show's producers?

The new season of Jeopardy is scheduled to begin on September 13, with Richards' first day of filming likely to still be aired. He said the show plans to proceed with guest hosts once again before it names a new permanent successor.

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