Bill Burr Slams Billy Corgan in Ambush Interview for Revealing They May Be Half-Brothers

Comedian Bill Burr’s appearance on Howie Mandel‘s podcast turned contentious when the host orchestrated an unexpected meeting with Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, who recently suggested the two performers might share the same father. Burr was visibly irritated by the surprise encounter, immediately confronting both Corgan and Mandel.

“You’re an a—hole,” Burr told Mandel while reluctantly shaking Corgan’s hand. When Corgan claimed Mandel had assured him Burr approved of the meeting, Burr responded, “That’s what he does,” before reluctantly agreeing to continue: “All right, f— it, I’ll do it.”

The tension stems from Corgan’s November revelation on Mandel’s podcast that his stepmother had suggested Burr “might be one of the children that your father sired in his days being a traveling musician.” Corgan had noted that his father once mentioned having “a half-brother named Bill, who was born around the same time as me.” The two performers are close in age, with Corgan at 57 and Burr at 56.

“Did you ever think the fact that I never told that story [meant] that maybe you shouldn’t?” Burr challenged Corgan during the encounter. However, as the conversation progressed, Burr appeared to acknowledge possible truth to the theory. “He was a piece of s—,” Burr said of his father. “He had two kids this close together, and he gave them the same f—ing name? He thinks it’s different because he’s Billy, and I’m Bill. That’s how he told the difference.”

Attempting to lighten the mood, Corgan joked about their potential relationship, saying, “The fact that he said he can’t sing, I think, disproves that we’re related, ’cause I’m not funny, so…it goes both ways.” He also revealed that Mandel had pressured him to share the story after hearing it privately.

The uncomfortable meeting took an unexpected turn when Mandel left the room while emotional piano music played in the background. The two discussed their “relationship with dad,” with Burr reflecting, “It’s funny though? If we were born during the internet… I don’t think you can get away with that anymore. Like at some point, it did become funny to me that he did have multiple families.”

“At least we broke the cycle,” Burr noted before mocking Mandel’s career: “At least we’re not on some awful network show judging plate spinners, or whatever the f— Howie’s career has become.”

By the episode’s end, both men found common ground in criticizing Mandel’s methods, with Corgan describing it as “some Dr. Phil s—” while Burr ultimately concluded, “We have the same father.”

Speaking later on The Rich Eisen Show, Burr clarified his feelings about the ambush. “Howie did what he did because he is a Hollywood whore, and he doesn’t care what happens,” he stated. While expressing continued frustration with Mandel’s stunt, he noted that Corgan is “fine.”