Howie Mandel Claps Back at Tom Sandoval Podcast Backlash (Exclusive)

Howie Mandel has found himself in the middle of the cheating scandal captivating the nation.

Mandel recently had Tom Sandoval on his “Howie Mandel Does Stuff” podcast. During the episode, Tom spoke out publicly about his relationships with Ariana Madix and Raquel Leviss.

On Wednesday, “Extra’s” Billy Bush spoke with Howie, who was dragged on social media after the episode.

Howie commented, “I’m so beside myself. Listen, I don’t watch… and I made this clear. I don’t watch ‘Vanderpump Rules.’ I know what it is. I met Tom at a wedding. He’s a friend of a friend... I saw this Scandoval thing going into all this normal news cycle… and it was big! I didn’t know what it was and I asked my daughter to explain and she said, ‘It’s that guy you met at the wedding,’ and he seemed like a very nice guy... My whole take from it was: ‘I don’t understand why this is as huge as it is.’”

As for claims by Andy Cohen that he “didn’t do his homework,” Mandel responded, “I don’t need to do homework. I know who he is... I wasn’t gonna weaponize his information and kind of, you know, challenge him on each thing. Those people that watch Bravo, you could challenge any piece of information you get from my podcast, but it’s just amazing how it has blown up everywhere.”

Howie also explained his thought process going into the interview, saying, “I also said to Tom, ‘If you come in, just tell your side. I’m not gonna judge it. I’m not gonna argue with you. I’m not gonna call you out.’ It’s not a deposition, it’s a podcast. I invite anybody to come on my podcast and if you got another side, that might be really entertaining. It’s very funny to me now, watching everyone else who, like, I didn’t even know some of the names of the people that are in the show and I’m getting hit hard for not knowing those names.”

While many are upset with Tom right now, Mandel is taking an empathetic approach. He said, “I feel worried about him. I was in the room with him. He was visibly shaken, visibly damaged at this point. He's a human being and I have empathy for every human being, I really do. He's going through a real tough time, maybe he deserves to go through a tough time, but I really do feel for him. I feel for Ariana, I feel for Raquel, I feel for anybody who is involved in this.”

Howie also wanted to clarify that he doesn’t “condone cheating.” He went on, “I think my interaction with Tom Sandoval is he's a very sweet guy who is going through a real rough time right now… I probably feel just as bad for the girl he cheated on, the girl he cheated with.”