Fans Blast Howie Mandel for Harsh Judgement on 'AGT'
"America's Got Talent" host Howie Mandel is in hot water following a controversial judgment call he made Tuesday night.
Things kicked off after a member of an improv group called Improv Everywhere took the stage. The audience soon lost interest in the performer and a chorus of boos rang out, which prompted Mandel to hit his buzzer to express his own displeasure with the performance.
Just after the buzzer sounded, members of the group stood up throughout the audience and joined in with the improv performance, which is the type of feat Improv Everywhere is known for. While the rest of the judges seemed enthusiastic about the stunt, Mandel remained staunchly unimpressed.
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Mandel told the group, "So you have two 'yes' votes, and you need three to move on. I have to be honest. It feels more like a party gag. What could you do next? You couldn't surprise us."
He then added, "OK, I'm going to surprise you. I'm going to say ... no."
Fans began voicing their outrage online.
"Howie Mandel, what is wrong with you?!" one user said on X, the app formally known as Twitter.
"Lost alot of respect for @howiemandel tonight at @AGT," said another. "The 1st act was original. While he's allowed to vote no & had given a red buzzer, when he explained why towards the end he said he was gona [sic] surprised them (making them think he'd put them through ) & he said no again."
Many fans have also made it clear that they enjoyed Improv Everywhere's performance, even if Mandel did not. As one person commented on YouTube, "We were NOT expecting THAT! What a performance! Sometimes the judges disagree, Me personally this was amazing, Fun and great way to start the final round of auditions."
This isn't the first time Mandel has faced public scrutiny following harsh criticism of an auditioning act. In 2021, Good Housekeeping reported that he publicly apologized to mom Alla Novikova, who was escorting her two children Michael and Angelina on Season 16 of the show. It turned out that Mandel and Novikova had met once before, when she and her then 9-year-old son auditioned on the show in Season 11.
At the time of that first audition, Mandel had nearly immediately given the pair the buzzer, saying, "When we first saw you, you were a surprise … But this is the third time I’m seeing the same moves. Third strike you're out as far as I'm concerned."
Novikova took her return to the show to tell Mandel what she really thought of him. "I would like to say you are actually really, really rude," she said. "And let me tell you why. You saw a little kid performing on the stage, dancing his heart out. He was dancing with joy. He was doing his best and you were so hard on him."
Related: Watch the 'America's Got Talent' Judges Award a Surprise Golden Buzzer to this Amazing Dance Troupe
