I'll Take Scandals For $2,000, Mike

Jeopardy! executive producer (helpful for naming yourself host, that is) Mike Richards is stepping down as the late Alex Trebek's replacement after people repeatedly brought up the point that Richards has a long history of antisemitism and sexism.

 

Mike Richards is out as “Jeopardy!” host, just nine days after he was tapped to succeed the legendary Alex Trebek as the face of the beloved quiz show.

Richards, who is also executive producer of “Jeopardy!,” saw his hold on the job undone with astonishing speed after unflattering and downright ugly details surfaced about his past conduct and statements he made on an eight-year-old podcast series. He will remain the show’s executive producer and episodes that Richards shot on Thursday in his first and only day as “Jeopardy!” permanent host will run as scheduled to start off the new season on Sept. 13.

On Friday, Sony Pictures TV confirmed that Richards had agreed to step aside as host. In a statement, Richards said the backlash had created “too much of a distraction for our fans and not the right move for the show.”

“Jeopardy!” has no choice but to run the Richards-hosted episodes taped Thursday because of the need for contuinity among contestants, given that the winner of each episode continues to compete on the following episode.

Richards’ hasty exit as host came a day after the Anti-Defamation League called for an investigation after a report surfaced in The Ringer that Richards made disparaging remarks about Jews, women and other groups in episodes of the comedy podcast “The Randumb Show” recorded in 2013 and 2014.

In the podcast, Richards had asked his female assistant and his female co-host whether they had ever taken nude photos, or in his words, “booby pictures.” In another episode, he called his co-host a “booth ho.”

In the end, Sony concluded that Richards’ image was too battered for him to take the helm of one of television’s most prestigious and popular brands. The irony is that the studio moved in his favor because he was seen as a neutral personality rather than an established name that might overshadow the show and its famously rapid fire, answers-in-the-form-of-a-question format.

“We support Mike’s decision to step down as host,” Sony Pictures TV said. “We were surprised this week to learn of Mike’s 2013/2014 podcast and the offensive language he used in the past. We have spoken with him about our concerns and our expectations moving forward.”

But the studio also voiced support for him remaining in his role as executive producer. A new round of guest hosts will be tapped to tape episodes to launch the show’s 38th year in syndication next month. Richards began his first day of taping as permanent host on Aug. 19, which turned out to be his last day in the role.

“Mike has been with us for the last two years and has led the ‘Jeopardy!’ team through the most challenging time the show has ever experienced. It is our hope that as EP he will continue to do so with professionalism and respect,” Sony said.

 

The fact that Richards gets to remain on as executive producer leaves a very sour taste in my mouth, and guest hosts or not, I have little to no interest in watching the show anymore knowing that Richards is still going to be a jackass of a boss with an axe to grind directly on the skull of whomever gets the permanent job.

 

Get rid of Richards, then we'll talk, Sony.

 

 

 

Landlording Over It All

The good news: President Biden's eviction moratorium is keeping families in rental homes and apartments and driving out bad landlords.

The bad news: the bad landlords are being replaced by horrific, corporate monstrosities that are creating rent monopolies across the country and jacking up rent by double-digit percentages per year.

 

Some owners are taking advantage of a red-hot housing market to sell their units to deep-pocketed investors willing to wait out the moratorium or to families who plan to live in them. Buyers are increasingly out-of-town investors or equity funds, whom critics fear will renovate the properties and market them at much higher prices.

“A lot of landlords are disgusted. They are selling at losses. They are getting out period,” Reid said of the dozens of investors he talks with.

Even those sticking with the property business say the moratorium has forced them to change their operations.

Some are leaving apartments vacant for months at a time, either because they lack the money to renovate or fear being stuck with nonpaying tenants. Some aren’t buying any new properties as long as the moratorium is in place; others will only buy in wealthier neighborhoods.

Still others are bolstering their screening process and giving extra scrutiny to someone who was unemployed for long stretches during the pandemic or saddled their previous landlord with months of back rent.

“If somebody stiffed their previous landlord out of 12, 15 or 18 months rent, I don’t want to rent to them,” Reid said.

This could result in fewer places to live for low-income tenants facing eviction when the moratorium lifts.

“It makes it worse for everyone. It’s worse for tenants, in particular, because we are going to lose affordable housing,” said Stacey Johnson-Cosby, who with her husband owns 21 units in the Kansas City, Missouri, area.

“The investors are going to come. They are going buy the property, put money into it, renovate it and rent it at a higher amount.”

Rick Martin anguished over just that before selling two of his five buildings in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. Before that the 62-year-old left most of them vacant due to the moratorium, depriving him of thousands of dollars in rent.

“The minute they enacted the moratorium, that trigged my decision to sell the properties,” Martin said. “I did not want someone moving in whom I could never get rid of if they didn’t pay rent. That would make the financial situation worse.”

Martin said he was torn about the decision to sell to investors. One has turned a building into condos. Another has already doubled the rent on a three-family building.

“Honestly it’s a very difficult decision,” he said. “I want the small property owners to flourish and grow. But because of this moratorium, we are having everything cut out from beneath us.”

 

There are many reasons why Republicans are trying to prolong the COVID-19 pandemic nationwide, but one of the biggest is driving out small landlords and sick renters and property owners, so that real estate can be bought for bargain prices by those who have to sell, to have move out, or pass away. 

More corporations aren equity firms are going to move in to your neighborhood, and they are going to cause their own massive real estate bubble, loot the place, then head for the exits before the next crash.

Then 10-15 years down the road they'll do it all over again.