Howie Mandel Under Fire for Interview With ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Star Tom Sandoval Amid Cheating Scandal

Howie Mandel is in some hot water following his interview with Vanderpump Rules star Tom Sandoval. The disgraced Bravo personality appeared on Mandel’s podcast, Howie Mandel Does Stuff, to discuss the Scandoval that has rocked the reality TV world. However, the Deal or No Deal host’s podcast episode is sparking backlash from many including Andy Cohen himself. 

The podcast episode featured Sandoval giving his take on the Vanderpump Rules drama. As fans know, Sandoval and his girlfriend of nine years, Ariana Madix, broke up after he began an affair with one of her good friends and fellow Vanderpump Rules co-star, Raquel Leviss. During the episode, Sandoval explained why he pursued a relationship with Leviss and seemingly placed some of the blame on Madix for his actions. 

“I still love Ariana, and I care about her very much,” he said, per Glamour. “But we, for a while, had sort of just our own lives.” Sandoval also claimed that he already broke up with Madix before she found out about him cheating on her with Leviss, but that she was in “denial” about the split. In turn, Mandel told him, “You need to be heard because the narrative is everyone else’s but yours. I’m not condoning cheating on a partner…. I think some people have to have empathy and compassion.” Following the release of the interview, many took Mandel to task for his limited knowledge of Vanderpump Rules, as he wasn’t even aware of who Scheana Shay, a cast member since Season 1, was. Some felt as though the host wasn’t the right choice for this kind of conversation given how little he apparently knew about the ins and outs of the situation or the show itself. 

Cohen even criticized Mandel for the interview during an episode of Watch What Happens Live. The WWHL host called Mandel his “jackhole” of the day on Tuesday and referenced how he didn’t know who Shay was in the middle of the interview. Cohen said that he “didn’t do his homework,” and added, “Howie, you have to be careful before you take a side. Bravo fans are very passionate.” Mandel later responded to the backlash and said that he didn’t “need” to do his homework. 

“I know who he is. I wasn’t gonna weaponize his information and kind of, you know, challenge him on each thing,” Mandel told Extra. He went on to say that he does not “condone” cheating but that he is “worried” about Sandoval amid the controversy. The America’s Got Talent judge said, “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.”