'Jeopardy!' Host Mike Richards Apologizes For Insensitive Podcast Remarks

New "Jeopardy!" host Mike Richards is apologizing for some insensitive remarks he made about women on his old podcast ... he says it's "a terribly embarrassing moment of misjudgment."

Here's the deal ... Mike used to host a podcast from 2013 to 2014 when he was the executive producer at "The Price Is Right" and he's now under fire for referring to his female co-host as a "booth ho" and "booth slut," among other degrading remarks aimed at women.

The podcast, called "The Randumb Show," has already been scrubbed from the Internet after The Ringer reported on Mike's derogatory comments, which also include him asking his female co-host and his assistant if they had ever taken "booby pictures," during a segment about leaked celebrity nudes.

According to The Ringer, Mike also went on the podcast and said women "dress like a hooker" for Halloween, said a former employee who took up baking would get "giant" and said one-piece swimsuits make some women "look really frumpy and overweight."

There's a lot more comments of the same ilk, according to The Ringer, but these are the lowlights.

Mike's apologizing in a statement, via Sony, telling us ... "It is humbling to confront a terribly embarrassing moment of misjudgment, thoughtlessness, and insensitivity from nearly a decade ago. Looking back now, there is no excuse, of course, for the comments I made on this podcast and I am deeply sorry."

He adds ... "The podcast was intended to be a series of irreverent conversations between longtime friends who had a history of joking around. 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."

As you know ... Mike was just announced as the new day-to-day host of "Jeopardy!" and lots of folks aren't happy. He's also denied allegations of discriminating against pregnant women at his past stops.