The bald judge apologies after telling a 'professional regurgitator' that he made bulimia 'entertaining' on the talent show.
- Aug 27, 2015
AceShowbiz - Howie Mandel apologizes for his lapse of judgment after his bulimia joke fell flat on "America's Got Talent". The judge said on live TV, "I just wanna take a second just to apologize. 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."
Earlier on the show after "professional regurgitator" Stevie Starr performed his act by swallowing objects and then bringing them back up whole, Mandel cracked, "This would probably come out wrong, but you, sir, make bulimia entertaining." The contestant just chuckled, but the host Nick Cannon clarified him, "I don't think that's what he was going for."
Besides the televised apology, Mandel took to Twitter to express his regret for the insensitive joke, "I am NOT perfect. I make mistakes. I sincerely apologize to everyone who was offended."
Howie Mandel himself does have his own struggle with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). He said in 2009, "I'm always on the verge of death in my head. In my mind [my hand] is like a petri dish. ... I would spend the day, as I have in the past in my life in the men's room rubbing and scrubbing and scalding... The biggest fear I have is being triggered. And if I'm triggered and I get some sort of weird thought in my head that can't go, then my day is, is stopped. My life stops."
