America's Got Talent judge Howie Mandel is recovering at home after fainting at a Los Angeles Starbucks on Wednesday. The report of Howie's fall came just one day after his appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and weeks after filming of AGT season 16 concluded. Howie has judged the show since season 5 and also appeared in both seasons of AGT: The Champions. However, he won't be taking part in the recently announced danger act spin-off, AGT: Extreme.
The longtime AGT judge was recently in the hospital as he underwent an endoscopy and a colonoscopy. Howie shared an Instagram video from his hospital bed, revealing that the patient in the next bed recognized him and tried to audition for AGT. He also showed off his post-procedure outfit, joking that "the doctors here were nice enough to let me wear a one piece...with just a flap in the back." Howie isn't the only America's Got Talent judge who has been hospitalized recently. Judge and show creator/producer Simon Cowell broke his back last summer, missing all of season 15's live shows. During season 16, Howie joked about Simon's accident upon his return to the panel.
Howie was at Starbucks with a group of friends and his wife, Terry, when he fainted. Pictures showed Howie sitting up, surrounded by firefighters, as paramedics rushed him to the hospital. Since then, Howie has taken to Twitter to explain what happened and to assure fans that he's fine. "I am home and doing better. I was dehydrated and had low blood sugar. I appreciate the great doctors and nurses that took such good care of me. Thank you to everyone who reached out but I am doing ok!" Howie's followers were relieved to know that he is doing okay.
Fans of Howie and America's Got Talent know that the judge is open about his mental health struggles. This was heightened for Howie during the COVID-19 pandemic, which he has addressed frequently. He has spoken about anxiety, depression and OCD on several occasions recently. Howie hosts a podcast, Howie Mandel Does Stuff, with his daughter, Jackelyn. Jackelyn, who has interviewed the AGT cast on several red carpets, has also struggled throughout the pandemic. The two have discussed their worries on the podcast. On America's Got Talent, Howie is also known for fist-bumping contestants instead of giving handshakes because of his fear of germs. He's broken his no-contact rule on rare occasions, including a season 10 audition where a contestant hypnotized him.
With all of Howie's concerns surrounding his health, fans were obviously worried when they heard about his fall. Now that Howie's doing better, it should be interesting to see if he posts anything else about the incident. Given his sense of humor, time will tell if he finds this funny enough to make a joke out of it. Since Howie said that dehydration and low-blood sugar caused the fall, maybe he will slow down and take a break from some of his work. In addition to judging AGT, Howie has a large presence on TikTok and continues to host his podcast. With several time-consuming projects, it's possible that Howie's workload could be affecting his physical health. Depending on how Howie feels in the near future, perhaps he will slow things down for a little bit. As far as America's Got Talent goes, there's still plenty of time until season 17 heads into production. With next year's panel uncertain, it's yet to be announced if Howie will return for a 13th season.
Sources: Howie Mandel/Instagram, Howie Mandel/Twitter