Romanian police raided the home of internet personality Andrew Tate on Wednesday as part of a new investigation into crimes including human trafficking and money laundering, the influencer's representatives said.

A self-described misogynist, Tate has gained millions of fans by promoting an ultra-masculine lifestyle that critics say denigrates women.

"Although the allegations in the search warrant are not yet fully clarified, they include suspicions of human trafficking and money laundering," Tate's representatives said in a statement on Wednesday. "The brothers' legal team is present to ensure that all formalities are carried out correctly."

Romania's Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) said on Wednesday it had conducted four home search warrants within Ilfov county and the Bucharest municipality. It said the investigation concerned "A criminal case regarding the commission of the crimes of setting up an organized criminal group, trafficking of minors, human trafficking, sexual intercourse with a minor, influencing statements, and money laundering." The hearings will be held at the headquarters of DIICOT – Central Structure.

Your crimes are going to catch up with you.

Police raid Andrew Tate's home in Romania as new allegations emerge involving minorshttps://t.co/SAfzINKrHf

— Darian T. NAFO (@carroll_darian) August 21, 2024

 He was already indicted in mid-2023 along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects for human trafficking, rape, and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, allegations they denied. In July, a Romanian court of appeal overturned a previous ruling that allowed Tate free movement within the European Union while awaiting trial on charges of human trafficking.

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Producer Mike Richards stepped down from his brief tenure as host of "Jeopardy!" after a report about past misogynistic and racist comments surfaced this week.

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The Ringer website revealed demeaning comments Richards had made on a 2013-2014 podcast, "The Randumb Show."

In one episode of the podcast during a discussion with a guest about noses, Richards, speaking in pig Latin, said, "Ixnay on the ose-nay" and "She's not an ew-Jay."

On the podcast, Richards also used derogatory language about women and their bodies. At one point he said his female co-host and former assistant was a "booth ho" and "booth slut" when she worked at a trade show. He also made mocking remarks about Asians and disparaged the homeless.

The clips were removed online after the report was posted.

The Anti-Defamation League had called for an investigation into Richards' past comments.

In a Twitter post, the ADL said that Richards' "disparaging remarks about Jews, women and Asians are no laughing matter. Stereotyping is an entry point to hate and his apology lacks acknowledgment of its harm. This reported pattern warrants an investigation."

New "Jeopardy!" host Mike Richards' disparaging remarks about Jews, women & Asians are no laughing matter.
Stereotyping is an entry point to hate and his apology lacks acknowledgment of its harm.
This reported pattern warrants an investigation. https://t.co/0D8D7441vU

— ADL (@ADL) August 19, 2021

Richards was chosen last week as the successor to Alex Trebek, a decision that was seen as divisive from the beginning after the show had embarked on a search that included actors, sports figures, journalists and celebrities.

"I was deeply honored to be asked to host the syndicated show and was thrilled by the opportunity to expand my role. However, over the last several days it has become clear that moving forward as host would be too much of a distraction for our fans and not the right move for the show," Richards said in a note to the "Jeopardy!" staff on Friday.

He also said a search for a new host will begin, with guest hosts returning to continue production for the new season.

But viewers will get to see the short-lived emcee in action. The episodes that Richards taped Thursday will air when the show returns for its 38th season starting Sept. 13; a do-over with a substitute host would be a slap at the contestants and further undermine the show.

Richards' note indicated that he will remain the show's executive producer – an awkward situation for whoever replaces him.

Sony Pictures Television, the studio that makes "Jeopardy!" and which released Richards' memo, said it was surprised to learn of his podcasts and offensive language and spoke with him "about our concerns and our expectations moving forward."

"It is our hope that as EP he will continue to do so with professionalism and respect," Sony said in a statement Friday.

The podcast content would have dogged anyone taking over a high-profile Hollywood position but was especially difficult for Richards, said Robert Thompson, a Syracuse University professor.

They were "the opposite of what we thought of in Alex Trebek. 'Jeopardy!' and Trebek were kind of this place you escaped from the scandal and the tweets and all the other stuff that was going on in the world," Thompson said Friday.

"Jeopardy!" champion James Holzhauer, who holds the record for single-game winnings and is No. 3 for all-time winnings, offered a sarcastic reaction to Richards' exit.

"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," Holzhauer tweeted.

When Richards was tapped to host the popular game show last week, Sony also announced that actor Mayim Bialik would emcee "Jeopardy!" prime-time and spinoff series, including a new college championship.

Giving the flagship show to Richards, who's firmly in the cookie-cutter host mold of a white, square-jawed young man, struck some as proof of an insincere effort by the studio to consider a woman, a person of color or someone from the LGBTQ community. More than half of the guest hosts fall into one or more of those groups.

While the report of Richards' podcasts immediately preceded his exit, there had also been renewed attention to his 2009-18 tenure as a producer on "The Price is Right." Several lawsuits had been filed by former models against the show alleging discriminatory behavior, including one that named Richards. He reportedly was dropped from it before a settlement was reached.

Doubts also grew about the fairness of the selection process, with reports finding holes in Richards' repeated assertion that the decision was Sony's and he had no role in it. Volleys of memes were launched comparing Richards to Dick Cheney, whose search for George W. Bush's 2000 vice presidential running mate ended with Cheney in the spot.

Sony's decision to crown the "Jeopardy!" executive producer as Trebek's successor – after a pageant-style parade of celebrity contenders – had stirred ill-will and suspicion toward what had been a remarkably trusted institution. Trebek, who hosted the show for 37 seasons, died last November.

There was "tentative celebration" among "Jeopardy!" fans Friday, said Andy Saunders, a longtime Canadian viewer and administrator of The Jeopardy! Fan website. He expressed deep reservations about Richards staying on as the show's producer.

"With his comments about so many marginalized groups becoming public knowledge, how are any of the staffers on the show that might be in those groups going to trust Mike Richards as a manager?" he said.

"It is humbling to confront a terribly embarrassing moment of misjudgment, thoughtlessness, and insensitivity from nearly a decade ago," Richards said in a statement to The Ringer staff writer Claire McNear, who first reported on the podcasts. He called the remarks inexcusable, adding, "I am deeply sorry."

McNear, author of the 2020 book, "Answers in the Form of Questions: A Definitive History and Insider's Guide to Jeopardy!" said Thursday that "Jeopardy!" had become an unimpeachable part of pop culture.

"Everybody knew 'Jeopardy!' and everybody loved 'Jeopardy!' and Trebek was not controversial. It was just this great trivia show. And now it is controversial and that's not going away," she said.

Filling the host's job was never easy. Affection for Trebek made finding a replacement both a gesture of regard for him as well as a business decision.

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The immediate reaction to the largely unknown Richards' hiring was befuddlement, although he ably handled a two-week stint as a fill-in host. There were also howls of protest from fans of other candidates, including former record-breaking contestant Ken Jennings, actor LeVar Burton and NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Richards signed an overall development deal with Sony in 2019, and became executive producer of "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune" in May 2020, positions he was to retain while hosting the quiz show.

While ratings rose and fell during the various guest-host stints, "Jeopardy!" remains among the top-ranked syndicated programs and a valuable asset for Sony.

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Israa Ghrayeb, 21, died last month after being hospitalized with severe injuries. Friends and women's rights groups suspect her male relatives attacked her over a video shared online that purportedly showed her in the company of a man who had proposed to her.

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The family says she jumped from a balcony of their home after being "possessed by demons."

In conservative areas across the Middle East, women have been murdered by male relatives over suspicions they brought shame to the family by violating strict rules on relationships.

The protesters on Monday called for tougher laws protecting women.

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With every step, she risks harassment or even arrest by Iran's morality police whose job is to enforce the strict dress code imposed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

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"I have to confess it is really, really scary," the 30-year-old fire-safety consultant said in a WhatsApp audio message, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions.

But she is also hopeful, saying she believes the authorities find it increasingly difficult to suppress protests as more women join in. "They are running after us, but cannot catch us," she said. "This is why we believe change is going to be made."

The hijab debate has further polarized Iranians at a time when the country is buckling under unprecedented US sanctions imposed since the Trump administration pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers last year. It's unclear to what extent the government can enforce hijab compliance amid an economic malaise, including a currency collapse and rising housing prices.

There's anecdotal evidence that more women are pushing back against the dress code, trying to redefine red lines as they test the response of the ruling Shiite Muslim clergy and their security agencies.

An Associated Press reporter spotted about two dozen women in the streets without a hijab over the course of nine days, mainly in well-to-do areas of Tehran – a mall, a lakeside park, a hotel lobby.

Many other women, while stopping short of outright defiance, opted for loosely draped colorful scarves that show as much hair as they cover. Even in Tehran's Grand Bazaar, frequented by many traditional women, most female shoppers wore these casual hijabs. Still, a sizeable minority of women was covered head-to-toe in black robes and tightly pulled headscarves, the so-called chador.

The struggle against compulsory headscarves first made headlines in December 2017 when a woman climbed atop a utility box in Tehran's Revolution Street, waving her hijab on a stick. More than three dozen protesters have been detained since, including nine who are currently in detention, said Masih Alinejad, an Iranian activist who now lives in New York.

Despite attempts to silence protesters, public debate has intensified, amplified by social media.

Last month, a widely watched online video showed a security agent grab an unveiled teenage girl and violently push her into the back of a police car, prompting widespread criticism.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have supported a softer attitude toward women who don't comply with the official dress code. However, hard-liners opposed to such easing have become more influential as the nuclear deal is faltering.

They have called for harsh punishment, even lashes, arguing that allowing women to show their hair leads to moral decay and the disintegration of families. The judiciary recently urged Iranians to inform on women without hijabs by sending photos and videos to designated social media accounts.

"The more women dress in an openly sexual way, the less we'll have social peace, while facing a higher crime rate," Minoo Aslani, head of the women's branch of the paramilitary Basij group, told a rally last week.

Another gathering was attended by several thousand women in chadors. One held up a sign reading, "The voluntary hijab is a plot by the enemy."

Reformist lawmaker Parvaneh Salahshouri said coercion does not work. "What we see is that the morality police have been a failure," said Salahshouri, who wears a headscarf out of religious belief.

Changing hijab rules through legislation is unlikely because of the constraints on parliament, she said.

Instead, women should engage in nonviolent civil disobedience, Salahshouri said. She cautioned that it's a slow, difficult road, but that "Iranian women have not given up their efforts."

The hijab controversy goes back to the mid-1930s when police forced women to take off their hijabs, part of a Westernization policy by then-Shah Reza Pahlavi. Under his son and successor, women could choose. Western apparel was common among the elite.

A 2018 survey by a parliament research center indicates that most women wear a casual hijab and only 13% opt for a chador.

Attitudes have changed. In 1980, two-thirds believed women should wear hijabs. Today, fewer than 45% approve of government intervention in the issue, the research said.

Iran has seen waves of anti-government protests, including an outcry after a 2009 election many contended was stolen by hard-liners. Those with economic grievances frequently protest.

Alinejad, the activist, argued the campaign against forced hijabs carries symbolic weight, saying that mandatory headscarves were "the symbol that the Iranian government used to take the whole society hostage."

In recent years, she has posted videos and photos of activists, including of women filming themselves as they walk in the streets without a headscarf. Alinejad said she receives more than 20 images a day, but posts only some.

The activists in Iran take risks.

In March, human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who has represented female protesters, was sentenced to 38.5 years in prison, of which she must serve 12, according to her husband.

In April, activists Yasaman Aryani, her mother Monireh Arabshahi and Mojgan Keshavarz were arrested after posting a video showing them without headscarves in the Tehran metro. In the video, they distributed flowers to female passengers and spoke of a day when women have the freedom to choose.

Amnesty International said Monday that Iranian authorities have used incommunicado detentions, prolonged solitary confinement, and threats against family members to coerce detained activists to retract their opposition to forced veiling in videotaped "confessions." The group said it had detected such a pattern in six cases since April.

Some activists maneuver carefully.

The 30-year-old fire-safety consultant said she tries to avoid policemen when she walks the streets without a hijab. She said she grudgingly complies with the dress code when she delivers lectures or sings in a mixed choir – activities she would otherwise be barred from.

At the high-end Palladium Mall in northern Tehran, several shoppers casually ignored a sign reminding customers that the hijab is mandatory. One woman only pulled up her scarf, which was draped around her shoulders, when she stepped into an elevator and found herself next to a security guard.

Nearby, 20-year-old Paniz Masoumi sat on the stone steps of a plaza. She had dyed some of her hair blue but kept that funky patch hidden under a loose scarf.

She said police recently impounded her car for two weeks, fining her amid claims that a traffic camera snapped her with a below-standard hijab.

If hijabs were voluntary, she'd throw off hers, Masoumi said. But for now, "I am not looking for trouble."

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"Even if it was a religious woman, it wouldn't be OK. The complicated vortex of politics is not the arena for the role of women," Aviner said.

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Shaked, who is currently vacationing in Canada with her family, responded on Twitter, saying she "just wanted to remind everyone" that women can do everything – including "serve as party leader, mayor, company CEO and even prime minister."

Meanwhile, the religious Zionist party Habayit Hayehudi is saying that women play an "important role" in political activity.

On Thursday afternoon, Habayit Hayehudi released a statement on the status of women in its ranks, claiming that "Habayit Hayehudi is the first party that put together a major women's forum and fosters women as leaders, and some 45% of Habayit Hayehudi members are women."

"In addition, the party has places reserved on its list for women to promote appropriate representation [of women] in the Knesset. … We believe that women have an important place in Israeli activity," the party statement read.

Aviner is a signatory to a petition circulated in the national-religious camp against Shaked being appointed head of the United Right. Although the petition makes does not explicitly mention Shaked by name, it reads, "We support [United Right leader] Rabbi Rafi Peretz's position that a God-fearing Jew who observes Torah and mitzvot must be at the head of the national religious party."

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