Howie Mandel is apologizing for a joke that fell flat and could be taken offensively, which he made on America’s Got Talent on Tuesday night during its live show.
image via Kristin Callahan/ACE/INFphoto.com
Mandel was talking to contestant Stevie Starr, who described himself as a "professional reguritator," and he made a bad bulimia joke while he was at it.
Starr’s act was swallowing whole objects then recovering them in one piece, and Mandel told him that he makes “bulimia entertaining,” acknowledging before he even said the remark that it would "probably come out wrong.”
E! Online reports later on in the show, Mandel took the time to apologize to anyone he offended.
"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."
He made a similar apology on Twitter after the show.