Howie Mandel doubles down on awkward semi-apology after snapping at Mark Consuelos, Kelly Ripa on air
Howie Mandel doubles down on awkward semi-apology after snapping at Mark Consuelos, Kelly Ripa on air
Joey NolfiWed, April 1, 2026 at 5:59 PM UTC
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Howie Mandel clashes with Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on 'Live With Kelly and Mark'Credit: ABC
Howie Mandel has doubled down on his awkward semi-apology to Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, after the America's Got Talent host and comedian snapped at the cohosting couple live on the air.
Days after sharing an Instagram video in which he partially apologized for scolding on television the Live With Kelly and Mark stars for praising his looks at age 70, Mandel added another layer of confusion to the ordeal in his answer to a podcaster's inquiry on the matter.
"I just said, right now, I feel like this would move me ahead. I wasn't concerned. In fact, if you listen to it, I said, 'I agree with you, I look great.' Normally I wouldn't apologize for a joke, but, it didn't land right, and if people took it the wrong way? You know what, I agree with you. I look great," Mandel told Carrie Berk on a new episode of Mindfire Pod.
Mandel again said he "wasn't offended" in the Live moment, which saw him sternly push back after Ripa told him that it didn't make sense that he was 70 years old. After Mandel asked her why, Consuelos replied, "You look great!"
Without laughing, Mandel pushed back, asking, "I look great? That doesn't mean anything to me. No, no, no, no. I don't like that, because that's a caveat." Consuelos then doubled down, leaning into the sentiment even further by saying "I am saying that," after Ripa tried to diffuse the tension by telling Mandel, "We're not saying you look great for 70. You look great" in general.
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Mandel told Berk he "read other people were offended" by the moment, and stated that he "was joking" with Ripa and Consuelos.
He added that he realized the moment had become a big deal when he saw his name pop up on his social media feeds, which prompted him to make what he said was his first-ever apology for a joke.
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"I'm going to issue an apology, and I thought I'd do that. I don't know how that's received, and it doesn't matter," Mandel continued. Berk then asked if he was genuinely sorry or if he posted the video to fuel the fire of the moment, to which Mandel replied, "I don't know. It's up to you to discern. I was just agreeing that I was good-looking."
Howie Mandel pushes back against Mark Consuelos, Kelly Ripa on 'Live With Kelly & Mark'Credit: ABC
He then told her that "I've come to terms with the fact that I'm stunning," echoing a joking sentiment he voiced at the end of his initial apology video.
The segment concluded with Mandel stressing that it's "wrong to apologize for a joke," and, "after a lot of thought and reflection, I am good-looking. That's what I said."
After the March 23 broadcast of Live, a source close to the situation told Entertainment Weekly that the exchange was "casual banter." EW reached out to representatives for Live for comment.
In his first apology video on Instagram, Mandel said, "Philosophically, I don't believe that somebody who's a comedian needs to apologize for a joke," elaborating again by telling his followers, "It is a joke. It is meant as a joke. And it's not meant to offend."
In the comments section of Mandel's original apology video, longtime Live producer Michael Gelman shared his thoughts as he wrote, "During these divided times, one thing we can all agree upon is that you do look great ...For your age."
Live With Kelly and Mark airs weekday mornings in syndication. Check local listings for showtimes in your area. Watch Mandel address the incident with Ripa and Consuelos in the Mindfire Pod episode above.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
