Jeopardy! executive producer and newly appointed full-time host Mike Richards has come under fire for controversial comments made on a series of resurfaced podcast episodes from nearly a decade ago. Richards, who was named the long-running game show’s permanent syndicated daytime show host last week, has responded to the comments, calling his past words a “terribly embarrassing moment of misjudgment” (via The Ringer).

The quotes were pulled from The Randumb Show, a podcast that Richards hosted from 2013 to 2014. The premise of the show was a behind-the-scenes look at The Price Is Right, which Richards previously served as executive producer on. His cohost and former assistant Beth Triffon discussed working as a model at the CES, with Richards dubbing her a “booth ho,” “booth slut” and “boothstitute.”

In addition, when looking at a picture of Triffon and her friends, he described them as “really frumpy and overweight.” Later on, he said, “They all look terrible in the picture ... they look fat and not good in the picture.” The Ringer also reported that Richards used the derogatory terms for both little people and mentally handicapped people, while also praising the “average white-guy host” trope.

Richards has responded to the resurfaced comments, saying, “It is humbling to confront a terribly embarrassing moment of misjudgment, thoughtlessness, and insensitivity from nearly a decade ago.” He continued to apologize for his words, which he described as a “series of irreverent conversations between longtime friends,” while also saying there is “no excuse” for them today.

“Even with the passage of time, it’s more than clear that my attempts to be funny and provocative were not acceptable, and I have removed the episodes,” said Richards. “My responsibilities today as a father, husband, and a public personality who speaks to many people through my role on television means I have substantial and serious obligations as a role model, and I intend to live up to them.”

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