Stephen Colbert Blasts Ex-Jeopardy! Host Mike Richards

As controversy continues to swirl around new Jeopardy! host Mike Richards, The Late Show's Stephen Colbert chimed in with his two cents last night, and he didn't have many kind words for the embattled game show alum.

"The big story everyone's talking about right now continues to be the chaos surrounding the recent, poorly-handed regime change... over at Jeopardy!," Colbert said at the top of Thursday's show, earning a laugh from an audience expecting the monologue to focus on Afghanistan. "Everyone is talking about this! Possibly to avoid talking about... everything else."

Colbert laid out the basics of the Jeopardy! drama, explaining that after a months-long search, "the executive producers of Jeopardy! selected executive producer Mike Richards." Added the late night host, "Wow, what are the odds?! Exactly the same as me getting named, 'Stephen Colbert Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive.'"

"It's only getting worse for Richards after resurfaced podcast audio revealed that in 2014, Mike Richards made crude comments about women, Jews, and Haiti. Looks like Richards' job might be in jeopardy," he continued, before noting that Richards reportedly asked his co-hosts if they had ever taken "booby pictures."

"Booby pictures?!" asked Colbert. "Is this a man about to become the host of America's most beloved quiz show, or a 12-year-old boy trying to sneak into an R-rated movie?"

Colbert's monologue proved effective: just 12 hours after The Late Show wrapped, Richards announced that he would be stepping down as Jeopardy! host. In a letter, Richards, who will remain an executive producer on the show, told staffers that "moving forward as host would be too much of a distraction for our fans and not the right move for the show."

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35 PM ET on CBS.

Claire Spellberg Lustig is the Senior Editor at Primetimer and a scholar of The View. Follow her on Twitter at @c_spellberg.