Howie Mandel speaks out on Kelly Ripa's age comment

Howie Mandel is defusing any tension between himself and Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos after a headline-making back-and-forth over a backhanded compliment.

The "America's Got Talent" judge and comedian spoke out about his "Live with Kelly and Mark" appearance the prior week in a March 28 Instagram video. In the March 23 episode, Ripa said Mandel being 70 years old "doesn't make any sense," with her husband noting, "You look great."

"I've been debating for 48 hours whether to post or not, and I don't know if I'm doing the right thing philosophically. I don't believe that somebody who's a comedian needs to apologize for a joke," Mandel began the video. "It is a joke. It is meant as a joke, and it’s not meant to offend. You could not like it."

"In my 50 years in the business, I haven't ever publicly kind of apologized so this is hard for me. But this is for Kelly Ripa, who in the past has been incredibly supportive," he continued. "Not only have I been a guest on her show, I've cohosted with her and known her for years. When I go out there, I just try to be entertaining and funny, and sometimes as a comedian, things don’t land the way you mean them to land."

Mandel recently appeared on the daytime talk show in 2024 and 2025. As he continued speaking, his apology sounded increasingly like the video was actually poking fun at the incident.

"I don't know how to say this, but not only do I want to say I'm sorry to Kelly but – and this is the hardest part – you’re right. You’re absolutely right, and I’m sorry I didn’t see it that way," he said. "But after a lot of thought and self-reflection, I look great for my age. I really do. I look fantastic, and I just have to embrace the fact that I look this good."

When he was on "Live with Kelly and Mark," Mandel appeared to take umbrage with Ripa and Consuelos' compliments. "I look great? That doesn't mean anything to me," Mandel said. "I don't like that because that's a caveat. Because when you tell somebody you're 70, they go, 'You look great [for your age].'"

He added: "It's like saying, 'You're smart for a stupid person.' 'Oh, you look smart; you seem smart.' I don't look good."

The hosts insisted that Mandel looks "great" regardless of his age, a point that he eventually conceded.

"Thank you. ... Honestly, now, I'll be serious for a minute: I'm gorgeous. I am," Mandel said, to which Ripa replied, "You're a thing of beauty."

'Live with Kelly' producer, more stars react to Howie Mandel's apology

Michael Gelman, a longtime executive producer on "Live with Kelly and Mark," took to Mandel's comments section to react to the comedian's video apology.

"During these divided times, one thing we can all agree upon is that you do look great … for your age," Gelman joked.

Gelman wasn't the only one to weigh in on Mandel's aging controversy, with several A-listers complimenting the "AGT" judge's appearance.

"I'm sorry, you look so good 😂," Mandel's "AGT" costar Terry Crews wrote.

"That was the smoothest pivot to self-love I've ever seen," Tom Bergeron wrote, "apart from my own morning conversations to my mirror 👏🏼"

"Everything's right on schedule, Howie," Stephen Baldwin wrote. "You don't have to apologize for anything ever because you're so young and beautiful, and that's what matters."

This story has been updated to add new information.

Contributing: Edward Segarra, USA TODAY