Howie Mandel clash highlights Kelly Ripa’s history of cringeworthy on-air exchanges

Kelly Ripa has been a talk show host for 25 years, and has had her share of awkward moments on air.

Never one to shy away from a TMI moment, Ripa has shared every part of her life with the viewers, and isn’t afraid to keep it real with her audience.

Whether she is calling out producers or accidentally offending her guests, the 55-year-old host has had many awkward instances while hosting “Live.”

Here are some of Ripa’s most memorable cringeworthy moments.

Howie Mandel

Things got a little tense, when “America’s Got Talent” judge, Howie Mandel, appeared on “Live with Kelly and Mark” earlier this month to celebrate his 70th birthday.

Ripa caught some heat from Mandel when she told him his age “doesn’t make any sense” to her. While Ripa thought she was paying him a compliment, Mandel pushed back, saying, “I don’t like that.”

“I look great? That doesn’t mean anything to me. No, no, no, no. I don’t like that, because that’s a caveat,” he said.

While Ripa and her co-host and husband, Mark Consuelos, tried to explain they weren’t saying that he looked good for his age, Mandel noted, “Yes you are, without saying ’70.'”

“It’s like saying you’re smart for a stupid person,” Mandel added. After the tense moment passed, Mandel shifted the attitude in the room, saying, “I’ll be serious for a minute. I’m gorgeous!”

The comedian took to his Instagram on Saturday to apologize to the TV host, saying that his reaction was a joke that didn’t land well.

“Philosophically, I don’t believe that somebody needs to… somebody who is a comedian needs to apologize for a joke, it is a joke,” he said.

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“It’s meant as a joke, and it’s not meant to offend, it’s not meant to… you can not like it and in all my years, all my 50 years in the business, I haven’t ever publicly kind of apologized for… This is hard for me, but this is for Kelly Ripa, who in the past has been incredibly supportive,” Mandel said in the video filmed by the beach.

“Not only have I been a guest on her show, but I have co-hosted with her, and I’ve known her for years. Micheal Gelman, whose a really close friend, is the producer of the show. And when I go out there, I just try to be entertaining, funny,” he explained.

“And sometimes, as a comedian, things don’t land the way you mean them to land. And I don’t know how to say this, but not only do I want to say I’m sorry to Kelly,” Mandel said. “But this is the hardest part… you’re right. You’re absolutely right.”

He appeared to make light of the topic, finishing off the video with: “And I’m sorry I didn’t see it that way, but after a lot of thought and self-reflection, I do… I look great for my age, I really do. I really, I really look fantastic, and I just have to embrace the fact that I look this good.” 

Gelman took to the comments section to write: “During these divided times, one thing we can all agree upon is that you do look great… for your age.”

Pistachio producer

Ripa broke the fourth wall in an awkward moment between her and her producers during an October 2023 episode.

While Ripa and Consuelos were filming the host chat segment at the top of the show, Ripa suddenly stopped the discussion and turned her attention to the producers Michael Gelman and Scott Eason, to ask what they were arguing about behind the camera.

“Here’s the thing, neither one of you are invisible, and when our parents start arguing with each other over us, we are fully aware that it is happening,” she said, per Entertainment Weekly. “So, is there something you want to say to each other?”

Gelman then revealed that the two were discussing a bowl of pistachios which were placed on the table for the co-hosts, adding, “For some reason, Scott was afraid to put them on the table.”

The hosts continued to joke about the situation, with Consuelos saying they would work it out once the show breaks for commercials. “This is a show I would watch, honestly. Tomorrow we should stand here and you guys sit here,” Ripa quipped.

An Instagram page for the show posted about the situation on their Instagram stories, with a response from Eason, in which he said, “I didn’t want to stick my arm creepily into the side of the screen,” to get rid of the pistachios.

Clay Aiken

Former “American Idol” contestant, Clay Aiken, had an uncomfortable moment with Ripa when he co-hosted the show in 2006.

Things went south for Aiken when he and Ripa were interviewing the winners of “Dancing with the Stars” that season and put his hand over Ripa’s mouth while she was speaking so that he could ask a question.

Ripa immediately leaned away from him and pulled his hand off her mouth while saying, “Oh, that’s a no-no,” as the audience reacted with laughter. Realizing he may have made a mistake, Aiken said, “Oh, I’m in trouble.”

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The veteran talk show host kept things playful by then, telling him, “I don’t know where that hand has been, honey,” and then moved on with the rest of the interview.

While she kept things professional during the rest of the show, she revisited the moment when her co-host, Regis Philbin, returned to host the following week, telling him, “I missed the heck out of you on Friday.”

“I feel like there was a lot of hostility directed at [me],” she told her co-host. “I’m just surprised. He’s a southern boy, so I expect a certain amount of southern hospitality and manners.”

Michael Strahan

News broke in April 2016 that Ripa’s co-host at the time, Michael Strahan, had decided to leave the show in order to join “Good Morning America.”

Following the big news, Ripa took a week-long break from the show as rumors swirled that she was blindsided by the news and found out alongside the rest of the world. Ripa addressed her absence during her opening monologue for her first show back.

“Thank you for welcoming me back to this show,” she said. “The love, the show of support through this bizarre time has been really overwhelming. I really—I needed a couple of days to gather my thoughts. After 26 years with this company, I earned the right.”

She continued: “In that time, I gained some perspective. I always speak from the heart. I didn’t want to come out here and just say something I might regret. So what transpired, though, over the course of a few days has been extraordinary in the sense that it started a much greater conversation about communication and consideration—and most importantly, respect in the workplace.”

Ripa later added that “apologies have been made,” and she received an assurance that ABC is committed “to the show and to the people that work here” and to the audiences “who have watched us every day for 30 years.”

“I am thrilled for Michael,” she said before turning her attention to her co-host. “I am thrilled for you. This is a tremendous opportunity, and I couldn’t be—and we couldn’t be—prouder of you and everything we accomplished together.”

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‘The Bachelorette’

Comments Ripa made about “The Bachelor” franchise being problematic in 2019, came back to haunt her when “The Bachelorette” star, Jenn Tran, was a guest on her show years later in 2024.

During the interview, Ripa continuously asked Tran why someone would choose to find love on the show, saying, “You could meet anyone anywhere at any time.”

When Tran compared the show to dating apps, Ripa explained she meant in real-life, such as at work or school. Tran then pointed out that Ripa and her husband also met on television.

“No no no no. Those are not the same,” Ripa argued. “Those are not the same. We were both professionals. Are you acting on your show? I didn’t marry Mateo Santos, I married Mark Consuelos.

Ripa and Consuelos famously met on set while filming “All My Children” in 1995.

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Ryan Seacrest

Ripa became a meme for her reaction to one of the show’s most viral moments.

In an episode in 2020, her co-host at the time, Ryan Seacrest, leaned a little too far back in his chair and ended up falling completely out of his seat.

The host’s shocked expression as she looked down at Seacrest while wondering if he was okay was quickly turned into a meme by fans of the show.

Seacrest’s embarrassment continued to grow as he tried to manage his microphone, which was tangled up in his suit.

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