Howie Mandel issued a heartfelt apology to former “All My Children” actress and longtime talk show host Kelly Ripa after an uncomfortable exchange between the two went viral.
Now, Ripa’s “Live With Kelly and Mark” executive producer, Michael Gelman, has weighed in on the incident with a humorous post. Gelman wrote in the comments of Howie’s apology, “During these divided times, one thing we can all agree upon is that you do look great … for your age.”
Fans joined in on the fun by replying to Gelman’s saucy remark. One replied to him, “He does deserve a T-shirt and a coffee mug. Just joking.” Another person commented, “I’m sure he has beautiful mugs and lots of beautiful shirts he don’t need one with marks face on it.”
One fan weighed in on the incident to defend Howie, saying they believe his statement that his comments were all in good fun. They wrote, “Surely this is all part of his joke. I watched the show and thought he was being the funny Howie he always is. I would like to think the media is making it worse than it was because if Kelly were that offended then she has issues. Howie is a comedian and you never know what one will say. I personally thought it was all funny . Even the apology.”
What Did Howie Mandel Say to Kelly Ripa?
It all started when Howie, who turned 70 in November 2025, made an appearance on “Live With Kelly and Mark,” and Kelly began to tell him how good he looks after his age was brought up.
The “America’s Got Talent” judge didn’t take kindly to what he saw as Ripa’s false flattery, snappily responding, “No, no! I don’t like that, cause that’s a caveat. Cause you tell somebody you’re 70, and they go, ‘You look great.'”
Kelly replied, “We’re not saying you look great for 70,” before Howie cut her off to say, “Yes you are! Without saying 70!” Kelly insisted she meant it as, “You look great, and I don’t believe you’re 70.” But Howie angrily declared the compliment was like saying, “You’re smart for a stupid person.” Although Howie later insisted he was only joking, some fans felt he took it too far.
Piers Morgan Also Reacted to Howie’s Apology
GettyPiers Morgan, who previously judged “America’s Got Talent” from 2006 to 2011, reacted in the comments of Howie’s apology to jest, “If you’re going to start apologising for offending people with your terrible jokes, I demand 365 apologies.”
In the heartfelt video, Howie said he’d been “debating for 48 hours” about whether or not to make the apology post. He went on, “I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing. Philosophically, I don’t believe that somebody who’s a comedian needs to apologize for a joke.”
He then doubled down, “It is a joke. It is meant as a joke. And it’s not meant to offend.” He told his followers they’re free to not like the joke, before revealing, “In 50 years, all my years in the business, I haven’t ever publicly apologized. This is hard for me.”
Still, he told Ripa, whom he called “incredibly supportive,” that “sometimes as a comedian, things don’t land the way you meant them to land. Not only do I wanna say I’m sorry, but – and this is the hardest part – you’re right. You’re absolutely right, and I’m sorry I didn’t see it that way.”
