What to Know
When Kelly Ripa commented on Howie Mandel’s age and appearance after he turned 70 years old and appeared on Live With Kelly and Mark, it did not go over well with the America’s Got Talent judge. In a truly awkward exchange between the two stars, Howie clapped back at Kelly for saying he looks good for his age, when in fact, Howie thinks saying someone looks good for their age “means nothing.”
During the episode, as Kelly tried to explain herself, Howie got louder and louder. Kelly’s husband and co-host, Mark Consuelos, came to her rescue, but Howie was having none of it. He snapped at both of them, though Kelly got the brunt of it. And, for some viewers, the entire unexpected exchange was just uncomfortable to see.
Howie Mandel and Kelly Ripa’s age discussion is a bit uncomfy.
The episode was filmed not long after Howie turned 70. When Mark commented on Howie having just celebrated his birthday, Kelly said it “doesn’t make sense” that Howie is 70. Mark agreed, and it seemed to be the couple’s way of applauding Howie on aging gracefully. But for Howie, saying those two things together takes away any compliment.
“I don’t like that, ’cause that’s a caveat,” Howie said during the episode, after both Kelly and Mark told him how great he looks for his age, which is, by the way, elderly. “What you say…’Cause you tell somebody you’re 70 and they go, ‘you look great’…”
Kelly interjected to say that she and Mark are saying he looks great and not just “great for 70.” But Howie snapped back to tell her that’s exactly what they were saying. There were points during the would-be confrontation that Kelly even looked uncomfortable or annoyed herself. It was pretty messy, especially for a daytime talk show, and it’s hard not to watch the exchange and cringe a little (or a lot).
People claim it’s just how Howie Mandel jokes around.
Howie is a loud guy with a different kind of sense of humor. He’s one of those people you might meet in real life and not know if they are joking or actually insulting you. So fun, right? According to those who are familiar with Howie’s brand of humor, it’s what he’s known for. But when he spoke to Kelly and seemed genuinely offended by her and Mark immediately, nothing seemed light-hearted about the conversation.
“I chalk this up to Howie’s bizarre method of humor more than anything,” someone wrote on X.
Another apparent Howie expert wrote, “You guys will try to make this negative when it’s three people joking and laughing. This is how Howie is.”
“I think people are reading into this too much,” someone else added. This is 100% on brand with Howie Mandel’s humor.”
Howie Mandel has been called a “fun sucker.”
Even if it is on brand for Howie to be a bit of a brat when talking to other celebrities, that doesn’t mean everyone understands his humor. In fact, because of his reactions to people, including the talent on America’s Got Talent, some people have referred to Howie as a “fuck sucker” in some situations. In a Reddit thread about Howie, some users pointed out his weird sense of humor, while others shared their belief that Howie is a tough pill to swallow.
“I usually perceive him as a fun vacuum,” someone wrote in the thread. “He sucks the joy out of most conversations, isn’t ‘with it’ enough to get most jokes (maybe it’s an age thing) and his most used tool in interviews is provocation. They programmed him successfully for the digital age so that he now knows that clips are everything so he tries to farm them at all cost. There is very little real human interaction with him during these shows I find.”
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