Sofía Vergara shuts down Howie Mandel on America’s Got Talent: ‘That’s it!’
This marks the second time Mandel has made jokes about the Colombian star’s single status
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sofía Vergara has once again shut down her America’s Got Talent co-host Howie Mandel after he made another joke about her single status.
During the popular talent competition’s latest episode on Wednesday (13 September), the Modern Family star, 51, who joins fellow judges Mandel, Heidi Klum and Simon Cowell for her fourth season, was asked to take a lie detector test on stage.
While hooked up to a polgraph test, Vergara fielded questions from her co-hosts.
When it was Mandel’s turn to throw out a question, he asked the recently divorced Vergara if there was anyone in the audience she was “interested in”.
The Colombian actor immediately exclaimed “That’s it!” before taking off the arm cuff and returning to her seat at the judges’ table.
This marks the second time Mandel has teased Vergara about being single live on air, following her recent divorce from her partner of seven years, Joe Manganiello.
In August, Mandel, 67, was criticised by social media users for his “low blow” joke about Vergara being “on the market”.
After 12-year-old contestant Brynn Cummings performed her magic and ventriloquism act, she enlisted Klum to help her puppet find a love connection. Mandel then told Cummings that she should have picked Vergara instead.
“If I have one word of advice, if you’re looking for eligible bachelors, you should have talked to Sofía because she’s in the market right now,” Mandel said, to a mix of cheers and boos from the audience.
Vergara took it on the chin when she jokingly exclaimed “yes!” and threw her hands up in the air.
AGT host Terry Crews then stepped in to defend Vergara, saying into the microphone: “No, no. We are not doing that here.”
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Following the online backlash, Mandel defended his light-hearted joke, telling Entertainment Weekly: “I was helping Sofia!
“I just thought, ‘Oh my god. Using Heidi to find an eligible bachelor? Hello! Who’s right here? Sofia is on the market, ready and eager!’” he said. “And then online people said it was too soon and it was tasteless.”
He continued: “It’s not too soon! It’s too soon when she’s still married. Last season was too soon. Even if she saw it coming. I don’t think she did. I’m just saying, that was too soon.”
In July, Vergara and Manganiello announced they were divorcing after seven years of marriage, citing “irreconcilable differences”.
America’s Got Talent airs every Wednesday night at 8pm EST on NBC.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments