Howie Mandel Defends His Tom Sandoval Podcast Amid Backlash From 'Vanderpump Rules' Fans, Responds to Andy Cohen Calling Him Out

Howie Mandel is speaking out.

The America’s Got Talent star recently had Tom Sandoval on his Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast to discuss the “Scandoval,” which angered both Vanderpump Rules fans and Andy Cohen, especially as Howie openly says he doesn’t watch the show.

In a new interview with Extra, Howie spoke out about the reception to the episode.

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“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,’” he said.

Andy Cohen dissed the episode on his radio show, saying he was “annoyed” that it even happened, especially considering that Howie‘s never seen the show and seemingly didn’t try to prepare beforehand.

“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 responded.

“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, right? 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.”

“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 added.

He also clarified he doesn’t “condone cheating,” saying: 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.”

“I’m just trying to do a podcast, people,” he added.

Find out what Andy Cohen had to say.