Howie Mandel Claps Back at Tom Sandoval Interview Critics, Says He's Worried About Reality Star

Now, Howie is clapping back at critics of his podcast episode, and particularly his involvement in a scandal he clearly didn't know all that much about -- especially as Sandoval's first major interview.

Lala Kent was among the first to marvel that Sandoval had chosen the "America's Got Talent" judge's podcast as his first public interview after blowing up his life by cheating on Lala Kent with Raquel Leviss. She thought it was a random choice, while also noting that Howie had made it clear he does not watch "Pump Rules."

Andy Cohen also spoke out about it, calling Howie his "Jackhole of the Day" the same night the interview dropped on Howie's podcast. He said Howie "didn't do his homework" on the show and "didn't know what he was getting himself into."

In response, Howie told Extra's Billy Bush on Wednesday, "I don't need to do homework. I know who he is." He went on to explain why he didn't want to go at the interview from that position anyway.

"I wasn't gonna weaponize his information and kind of, you know, challenge him on each thing," he added. "Those people that watch Bravo, you could challenge any piece of information you get from my podcast, but it's just amazing how it has blown up everywhere."

Howie also explained how he got involved in the first place, saying that it came about through his daughter and because he'd once met Sandoval at a wedding. "He's a friend of a friend," Howie said.

"I saw this Scandoval thing going into all this normal news cycle," Howie said. "And it was big! I didn't know what it was and I asked my daughter to explain and she said, 'It's that guy you met at the wedding,' and he seemed like a very nice guy."

He noted that a big part of his fascination was just how big the story had gotten, expanding way beyond the typical Bravolebrity sensational shenanigans and drama. And that is a big part of what he and Sandoval talked about, who is also stunned by how big the story's gotten.

So his thought was to allow Sandoval to come on the podcast and just tell his side of the story. He said he told the reality star, "I'm not gonna judge it. I'm not gonna argue with you. I'm not gonna call you out."

As for his takeaway from the interview, Howie said he's worried about Sandoval. "I was in the room with him. He was visibly shaken, visibly damaged at this point."

While making it clear that he doesn't condone cheating, he nevertheless has to see Sandoval as a fellow 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," Howie said. "I feel for Ariana, I feel for Raquel, I feel for anybody who is involved in this."

After sharing a clip of Howie asking his daughter who Scheana Shay is, Andy said, "Howie, you have to be careful before you take a side. Bravo fans are very passionate," he added, before concluding, "Howie, you gotta binge 'Pump Rules,' dude. You'll thank me later. And then do the interview again."

It doesn't seem like it's that serious for Howie, though, who told Extra, "I'm just trying to do a podcast, people."

You can check out the major bits from Howie's interview with Sandoval below, or check out the whole hour-plus podcast: