Howie Mandel Takes Issue When Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos Say He 'Looks Great' at 70
Howie Mandel Takes Issue When Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos Say He 'Looks Great' at 70
Bailey RichardsWed, March 25, 2026 at 4:44 PM UTC
0
Howie Mandell and Kelly Ripa on 'Live with Kelly and Mark'Credit: Live with Kelly and Mark/YouTube (2) -
Howie Mandel pushed back on age-based compliments during a tense exchange on Live with Kelly and Mark on March 23
Mandel called hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' remarks that he looks "great" for his age backhanded
"I don’t like that, ‘cause that’s a caveat," said the America's Got Talent judge
Howie Mandel is not a fan of age-based compliments.
During his Monday, March 23, appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark, the 70-year-old comedian had a somewhat tense moment with hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos. The awkward exchange happened after they brought up the topic of his age, giving him a compliment that he deemed to be backhanded — and called them out for it.
“You just celebrated 70 years,” Consuelos, 54, told the guest, who echoed, “Yes, I’m 70.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Ripa, 55, then chimed in, as Mandel questioned, “What do you mean it doesn’t make any sense?”
The conversation then turned to the America's Got Talent judge’s looks, which he did not appear to enjoy. “You look great,” Consuelos told him, as he responded, “I look great? That doesn’t mean anything to me.”
As the Live co-hosts doubled down on their comment about his looks, he pushed back.
Howie Mandell on 'Live with Kelly and Mark' on March 23Credit: Live with Kelly and Mark/YouTube
“No! No. No. I don’t like that, ‘cause that’s a caveat. When you say … ‘cause you tell somebody they’re 70, and they go ‘You look great—,’” Mandel explained of his frustration, as Ripa interjected to clarify her comments.
“No, we’re not saying you look great for 70—,” she said, as Mandel insisted, “Yes, you are, without saying 70!”
Advertisement
Consuelos agreed with the comedian’s assessment, stating, “I am saying that! I am saying that!” His wife and co-host, meanwhile, argued the opposite. “We’re saying you look great, and I don’t believe you’re 70," said Ripa.
Either way, Mandel was still not having it. “It’s like saying, ‘You’re smart for a stupid person,’” he said of the hosts' compliments, drawing audience laughs. “‘Oh, you look smart! You seem smart!’ I don’t look good.”
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on 'Live with Kelly and Mark' on March 23Credit: Live with Kelly and Mark/YouTube
Ultimately, however, the AGT judge agreed with Consuelos’ insistence that he does “look good,”
“Thank you. Well, actually, before we go out, there’s, like, a mirror back there, and I … honestly, now, I’ll be serious for a minute: I’m gorgeous. I am. I am,” he said, as Ripa declared, “You’re a thing of beauty.”
— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The trio then went on to discuss the comedian’s health, prompting him to reveal that their mutual friend Jerry O'Connell “has got me into the most ridiculous workout I’ve ever done in my life.” It involves swimming for an hour with “cables” tied to the pool wall, “frying pan” paddles and going “nowhere.”
“It’s really good,” he says of the workout — but jokes that it “scares children” when he does it on the go in hotels.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
