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After resigning from his new post as host of the iconic game show Jeopardy! amid a slew of allegations and past misogynistic comments, Mike Richards has now also been oustered from his role as a producer of the show. And one renowned Jeopardy!champion is flat-out rejoicing.
James Holzhauser, whose 32-game winning streak makes him the second-highest winner of Jeopardy!, threw some epic shade at Richards on Twitter using nothing but a simple gif from the film The Wizard of Oz.
pic.twitter.com/ZCLQIBUQv7— James Holzhauer (@James Holzhauer) 1630430029
The gif Holzhauser used comes from the legendary scene in the movie when the residents of Munchkinland celebrate the death of The Wicked Witch of the East after Dorothy dropped a house on her--a fitting treatment for Richards in the eyes of many.
Richards' selection as the replacement for legendary host Alex Trebek has been controversial from the start because of a sexual discrimination lawsuit filed against him by a former employee, misogynistic comments Richards made on a podcast he used to host, and allegations that he "rigged" the host selection process to favor himself.
Holzhauer has been very outspoken about his opinion of Richards since practically the moment his hosting gig was announced.
Last month, he obliquely referenced the rigging allegations in a tweet.
I was really looking forward to the season premiere where after an exhaustive 61-clue search for the next Jeopardy champion, the show looks past the three obvious candidates and declares Mike Richards the winner— James Holzhauer (@James Holzhauer) 1629469973
In more recent days, Holzhauer has continued to criticize Richards in a series of sharp-tongued tweets in which he addressed people who have come to Richards' defense amid the uproar over the growing list of his past misdeeds.
Do I think Mike Richards\u2019s podcast comments were appropriate for polite society? No. But did he deserve the benefit of the doubt for the job he did running Jeopardy? Also no— James Holzhauer (@James Holzhauer) 1630430023
But lest those past shortcomings not amount to sufficient reason to get rid of Richards in anyone's mind, Holzhauer also tweeted about his own experiences with Richards over the course of 33 episodes of Jeopardy!.
It's not a flattering picture he paints.
On Twitter, many people loved Holzhauer's shady takedown of Richards and celebrated the ouster along with him.
This is petty and I love it.— Joe Cozzati (@Joe Cozzati) 1630430205
HELL YA! I absolutely knew there was no way he'd still be around when the new season began. Finally @jeopardy and @Sony have done something right. This respects Alex Trebek.— charlespoet (@charlespoet) 1630435172
Totally what I was thinking when the announcement was made. There was no way that Richards could continue producing Jeopardy after the hosting fiasco without making things more awkward than they already were.— Mark D. | Avra | \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 | \u24eb (@Mark D. | Avra | \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 | \u24eb) 1630450511
pic.twitter.com/waako08ZhJ— Greg M Sr. \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Greg M Sr. \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1630430732
He\u2019ll never be Alex and we can thank his past for that.— Debbie Jones \ud83e\udd8b\ud83d\udc9c\u2615\ufe0f (@Debbie Jones \ud83e\udd8b\ud83d\udc9c\u2615\ufe0f) 1630450779
Got a sneaky suspicion that Jeopardy James didn\u2019t really care for Mike Richards.https://twitter.com/James_Holzhauer/status/1432753502967664640\u00a0\u2026— The Black Beer Baron (@The Black Beer Baron) 1630430458
You know, I wasn't a big fan of @James_Holzhauer when he was on @Jeopardy. I am now.https://twitter.com/James_Holzhauer/status/1432753502967664640\u00a0\u2026— Joe Gerth (@Joe Gerth) 1630436930
@James_Holzhauer woke up this morning and chose violence. Love it!https://twitter.com/James_Holzhauer/status/1432753502967664640\u00a0\u2026— Scott Lawson (@Scott Lawson) 1630430449
Jeopardy legend being shady as hell and I am all here for it!https://twitter.com/James_Holzhauer/status/1432753502967664640\u00a0\u2026— Kenny (@Kenny) 1630450715
Richards has also been dismissed from his post as an executive producer of Wheel of Fortune amid the controversy.