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Howie Mandel Apologizes for Calling Bulimia 'Entertaining' on 'America's Got Talent'

By Jackie Willis
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Howie Mandel is backtracking after a controversial joke he made on America's Got Talent.

It all began when Mandel started praising AGT fan-favorite Stevie Starr, a.k.a. the "professional reguritator," for his ability to swallow random objects whole and bring them back up in one piece.


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"You, sir, make bulimia entertaining," Mandel told Starr. Even before making the quip, the 59-year-old AGT judge knew it was untoward, admitting that the joke "would probably come out wrong."

Beating social media to the bunch, Mandel, who suffers from OCD, said he was sorry a few segments later on in the show. "I just wanna take a second just to apologize. I made a comment earlier, it's live television, I wasn't thinking," he said. "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.


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Not letting it go, Mandel also took to Twitter to make a similar apology. "I am NOT perfect. I make mistakes," he tweeted. "I sincerely apologize to everyone who was offended."

Mandel isn't the only one to endure an embarrassing moment on AGT. Check out ET's exclusive bloopers reel from the NBC show:

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