Sofia Vergara’s appearance at America’s Got Talent’s live show qualifiers was her first work appearance after the news of her split and in process divorce from estranged husband Joe Manganiello. The 51-year-old is known for having a fabulous sense of humor which is why co-judge Howie Mandel made a comment on her single life during the first qualifier round. She took it good-heartedly and laughed along but the latter got plenty of backlash for it.
Mandel defended his comment later but it seems like he doesn’t care about it. The 67-year-old made another joke about Vergara’s split during the recently aired fourth qualifier round. This time around, Vergara walked off after hearing his joke. Here’s what happened.
Sofia Vergara walks off after Howie Mandel makes another joke about her divorce
During the September 12 qualifier round episode of America’s Got Talent, Vergara took a lie detector test while sitting on a tater tots throne. The judges namely Vergara, Mandel, Simon Cowell, and Heidi Klum had a lot of fun as they played around with questions. The actress was accused of lying when Klum asked if Cowell was like a sweet puppy. That’s when Mandel decided to throw in his comment about Vergara’s personal life (again!) in the mix.
“Do you see anybody in the audience tonight that you’re interested in?” he asked. “That’s it, that’s it,” the Colombian star said taking her arm cuff off. Vergara walked off the throne to her seat at the judges panel, good-naturedly. “Okay, I think she’s done,” host Terry Crews quipped. Previously, 12-year-old ventriloquist Brynn Cummings was performing her act onstage during the first qualifier when she asked Klum to help her puppet find a love match.
Howie Mandel’s previous quip about Sofia Vergara being ‘in the market’
Mandel then commented that she should have chosen Vergara instead since she’s now single. “If I have one word of advice, if you’re looking for eligible bachelors, you should have talked to Sofia because she’s in the market right now,” the comedian said. Vergara laughed at the joke and exclaimed “Yes!” with her arms up in the air. But the comment didn’t go down well online. Mandel was called out for being insensitive and joking about Vergara’s split.
Defending his comment later, he said he was trying to help the Modern Family star. “People said it was too soon and it was tasteless,” Mandel told Entertainment Tonight. “She came over and she thought it was funny. She [said it was] good [and said] how much she wants that,” Mandel added. He also told Extra TV, “I think as soon as you’re available, it’s never too soon. She’s fresh, people.” Meanwhile, Vergara has taken both of his jokes good-naturedly. For the unversed, the actress and Manganiello announced their split in July.
