Andy Cohen doesn't approve of Tom Sandoval breaking his silence on Howie Mandel's podcast.
Andy Cohen isn't happy with Howie Mandel's surprising sit-down interview with Tom Sandoval. The Bravo host is taking the America's Got Talent judge to task for his recent chat with Sandoval on his Howie Mandel Does Stuff Podcast, during which Mandel appeared -- to some fans -- to lack knowledge about the intricacies of Scandoval, and appeared to side with the embattled reality star when it came to the drama.
Scandoval is the term used to describe the VPR cheating scandal that shocked the Bravo-verse last month. Sandoval has since faced controversy after it was revealed that the Vanderpump Rules star cheated on his longtime girlfriend, Ariana Madix, with their friend and co-star, Raquel Leviss.
On Wednesday's episode of his SiriusXM show, Andy Cohen Live, Cohen seemed most displeased with the fact that Mandel didn't do his research ahead of his interview with Sandoval.
"This Howie Mandel thing, I don't know. I found out about it last week. Was annoyed on my behalf, on Bravo's behalf, on the viewer's behalf. I'm surprised he gave an interview to someone who doesn't seem to be familiar with the show or watched the show on any level," he said. "I mean, from the clips that I saw, do you think Howie watched a frame of the show?"
Cohen joked that Mandel speaking with Sandoval is like if Cohen, not a football fan, did "the exit interview with Tom Brady" after he retired.
Talking to Mandel directly, the TV host added, "Howie, Peacock has a list of the [Vanderpump Rules] episodes that you need to see to catch up on this thing. Just watch those if you don't have time. Seems like a missed opportunity for both of them."
Cohen did note that he thinks Sandoval chose to break his silence with Mandel because "maybe that's what Tom felt he needed from an interview so that he could just be completely unchallenged."
Doubling down on his critique of Mandel, Cohen continued, "You know, me doing a Deal or No Deal reunion? You know what, if I was doing a Deal or No Deal reunion, you know what I would do? ...I would watch Deal or No Deal to find out what it's about."
That being said, Cohen is still thrilled to have VPR fans watch his interview with Sandoval that he did for the show's reunion special.
"I did a great interview with Tom at the reunion and I'm still looking forward to you all seeing that and hearing his perspective up against Raquel and Ariana is fascinating stuff. So there's still more to come," he shared.
Cohen also addressed Mandel's interview with Sandoval on Tuesday's episode of Watch What Happens Live.
"Tonight's Jackhole [of the Night] goes to the fact that Howie Mandel apparently didn't know what he was getting himself into with his interview of Tom Sandoval today," Cohen said during his chat with Saturday Night Live alum Cecily Strong and Real Housewives of New Jersey star Melissa Gorga. "Because it seems like maybe he didn't do his homework?"
Cohen then played one clip from the podcast interview during which Mandel appeared not to know even some of the core players in the ongoing drama, and Cohen couldn't help but laugh.
"Now both Sandoval and Howie are being dragged on social media," Cohen said with barely contained glee. "Howie, you have to be careful before you take a side. Bravo fans are very passionate."
While the ire directed toward Sandoval is expected from the more outspoken Twitter critics, Mandel is also getting slammed for seemingly defending his infidelity, with many claiming that he was trying to excuse the Vanderpump Rules star's behavior.
One Twitter user even called for Mandel to respond, writing, "We need Howie Mandel on WWHL after that horrific interview to explain him self @Andy #WWHL #PumpRules."
Cohen took a moment of his time to respond directly to that suggestion, simply tweeting, "Or not."
During his chat with Mandel, Sandoval attempted to share his side of the story, which to many fans seemed like an attempt to place blame for his infidelity on his now-ex, Madix.
Sandoval said that, over the last year, he began to "feel trapped" in his relationship with Madix and realized that he needed to "make a change to feel alive again, to feel motivated, to feel optimistic again."
Enter Leviss, who came along "at the worst time ever" for Sandoval because he was "yearning for a connection."
Afterward their first kiss, Sandoval said he went to therapy to "try to figure out what the hell I'm going to do."
"The feelings were something very, very strong. Those feelings that I had started to take over in a sense. Logic, all that s**t went out the window," he said. "... Our connection was healthy, but the environment that it created -- the lying, the sneaking around -- was very unhealthy. But time was always fleeting. Every time we were around each other it felt like it could be the last time we'd see each other. It made us both obsessive over trying to see each other and stuff."
What followed was a months-long affair with Leviss, which only became public knowledge last month, and is currently playing out on season 10 of Vanderpump Rules.
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