More than two years after he stepped down as Jeopardy! host amid backlash, Mike Richards is hoping to clear the air.

Richards was announced as longtime Jeopardy! host Alex Trebeks successor in August 2021, about nine months after Trebek died of pancreatic cancer at age 80.

The news, however, was criticized by many Jeopardy! viewers, given that Richards was one of the game shows executive producers. In addition, Jeopardy! had, at that point, featured a rotating list of guest hosts including New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton who had emerged as fan favorites.

In an interview with People published Wednesday, Richards said that there had been no contingency plan in place as far as finding a replacement for Trebek. When he was formally tapped for the gig, he noted, No one was more surprised than me.

Everyone was so angry because it looked like I had gone into a room and picked myself, he said. And thats not what happens in television, but I understood that thats what the outward appearances were.

Although Richards understood that his appointment was going to be scrutinized as closely as a presidential election, he wasnt prepared for allegations that hed mistreated female staff members while serving as executive producer of The Price is Right to resurface.

It was insinuated that I had been personally sued for sexual harassment, he told People in regard to the allegations. I never had, but that didnt matter.

An expos published by The Ringer during that time also uncovered a series of sexist remarks that Richards had made on The Randumb Show, a podcast he hosted from 2013 to 2014.