Do we like Howie Mandel?
Our score: 7 out of 10. Nothing harmful toward LGBTQ+ people or the planet turned up, and there's real advocacy, but one contested podcast moment and a few clumsy stunts hold him back.
Howie Mandel grew up in Toronto and worked as a carpet salesman before friends talked him into an open mic at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles in 1979. A producer spotted him there, and he went on to play Dr Wayne Fiscus on St. Elsewhere and voice Gizmo in the Gremlins films. He created the cartoon Bobby's World in the 1990s, then hosted Deal or No Deal from 2005 and joined America's Got Talent as a judge in 2010.
His messiest recent stoush was a stunt on his podcast in January 2025. He sprang Billy Corgan on Bill Burr, reviving a theory that the two might be half-brothers, and Burr was not impressed. Mandel apologised on air, saying “I only tried to do something good”, and reported that he'd tried to reach out to Burr, who kept him at a distance. Good intentions, clumsy execution.
On the harm check, nothing against LGBTQ+ people turned up. When transgender comedian Julia Scotti came out on AGT, he asked her why she started so late, and he later called her a standout and said people should be open and respectful. The one contested moment: on his podcast in August 2025 he said “right now the worst thing you can be is a racist”, and when Marc Maron called Trump a racist, Mandel said half the country doesn't think so. Critics found that disappointing. He has also said comedy swung too far into the woke, adding “You don't have to laugh at the joke.” Nothing on climate or vaccines turned up, and I found no pattern of repeat work with people pushing harm.
In March 2026 he had a prickly on-air moment with Kelly Ripa on Live with Kelly and Mark after she complimented how he looked. He posted an Instagram apology, saying he'd debated it for two days and that comedians don't usually apologise for jokes. It was awkward telly rather than anything nasty.
The real good is mostly in mental health advocacy. He is a spokesperson for Canada's Bell Let's Talk campaign, advocates for children and people with mental health issues, and is in Canada's Walk of Fame. Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services announced in 2015 it would honour him with its Beatrice Stern Media Award for using media to cut stigma. That's real work, not just trophies.
The record is thin in places. I couldn't find a court ruling against him, and the only allegation-style items were tabloid territory, so they're left out. The Trump exchange is the main thing that keeps this from a clean pass, and it's a position and a podcast moment, not a campaign. Where you land depends on how you read it.