“Live with Kelly and Mark” executive producer Michael Gelman poked fun at the drama between Kelly Ripa and Howie Mandel.
Gelman commented on Mandel’s recent Instagram apology to Ripa for snapping at her and her husband, Mark Consuelos, on the talk show over their compliment that he looks great for 70.
“During these divided times, one thing we can all agree upon is that you do look great … for your age,” Gelman cheekily wrote.
On last Monday’s episode of “Live with Kelly and Mark,” Mandel reacted poorly to the couple congratulating him on turning 70.
“That doesn’t mean anything,” he said in response to Ripa and Consuelos’ well-intentioned compliment about how he’s aging.
Ripa, 55, then assured Mandel that the hosts were “not saying you look great for 70 [years old].” Rather, “We’re saying you look great and I don’t believe you’re 70.”
But Mandel doubled down on his argument against the couple.
“No, no. It’s like saying you’re smart for a stupid person,” he explained, earning laughs from the audience. “‘Oh, you seem smart, you seem smart,’ you see, no, I don’t look good.”
When Consuelos, 55, reiterated that Mandel does “look good,” the “America’s Got Talent” judge diffused the tense moment by agreeing he’s “gorgeous.”
After the awkward exchange went viral, Mandel issued a personal apology to Ripa in an Instagram video on Sunday.
“It is a joke. It is meant as a joke, and it’s not meant to offend,” he said, admitting that making the video was “hard” for him as he hasn’t apologized for anything in his 50 years as a comedian.
Mandel added, “But this is for Kelly Ripa, who in the past has been incredibly supportive. Not only have I been a guest on her show, but I have cohosted with her and I’ve known her for years.”
The podcast host explained that he was just trying to be “entertaining and funny,” but his joke on the show didn’t “land” the way he wanted it to.
He then jokingly said that after “a lot of thought and self-reflection, I do look great for my age.”
“I really do. I look fantastic and I just have to embrace the fact that I look this good,” Mandel quipped.
Ripa and Consuelos have not responded to Mandel’s apology.
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