Howie Mandel Makes Dumb Bulimia Joke On Air, Apologizes

Howie Mandel made a silly joke about bulimia live on air during America’s Got Talent and later apologized while the show was still taping.

Mandel made the quip on Tuesday night’s show, forcing the dreaded ~Social Media~ crowd to storm in and rebuke him. Deadline reports:

Mandel shared his suspicion that the joke would likely not go well but proceeded with it anyway. Capping a rousing judge reaction to the act of a fan favorite, The Regurgitator (Stevie Starr), who swallows objects and then regurgitates them, Mandel said, “this would probably come out wrong, but you, sir, make bulimia entertaining.”

Yeah, that’s something he could’ve kept in his head. Later in the show, Mandel apologized for the joke before another performer took the stage:

The live telecast went into commercial right after but some time later, Mandel preempted his critique of another act to deliver his mea culpa. “I just want to take a second to apologize,” the comedian said. “I made a comment earlier, it’s live television, I wasn’t thinking. I made light of bulimia, which is a very serious eating disorder and mental health issue. I deal with mental health all the time, and I did something stupid. I should never make light of it. I apologize to anybody that was offended. I’m not perfect, I make mistakes.”