The boss weighs in. Andy Cohen shared a more detailed reaction to Tom Sandoval‘s bombshell interview with Howie Mandel — and he wasn’t at all pleased by the situation.
“This Howie Mandel thing, I don’t know. I found out about it last week,” the Bravo exec, 54, said during the Wednesday, April 12, edition of SiriusXM’s Radio Andy. “[I] was annoyed on my behalf, on Bravo’s behalf, on the viewer’s behalf.”
The Most Talkative author also slammed the comedian, 67, for failing to do his research before sitting down with the Vanderpump Rules star, 40.
“I’m surprised [Tom] gave an interview to someone who doesn’t seem to be familiar with the show or watched the show on any level,” Cohen said. “And [Howie’s] like, ‘I don’t understand why this is a big deal,’ but, you know, maybe that’s what Tom felt he needed from an interview, so that he could just be completely unchallenged.”
The Watch Watch Happens Live With Andy Cohen host also quipped that Peacock already compiled a list of which Pump Rules episodes to watch if you need to “catch up” on everything leading up to Scandoval. “Just watch those if you don’t have time,” the Superficial author said. “Seems like a missed opportunity for both of them. I will kind of leave it at that and I am excited still for y’all to see the reunion, but what a head scratcher.”
The Emmy winner went on to theorize that the TomTom co-owner agreed to the sit-down because of a personal connection with one of Mandel’s employees. “I think he went on because for sure he thought it was a friendly environment,” Cohen explained. “Tom’s drummer’s wife is the producer of the podcast, so there you go.”
Cohen was referring to drummer Jason Bader, who is also the manager for Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras. Jason’s wife, Kimmie Bader, is a senior vice president at Mandel’s production company, Alevy.
After internet sleuths noticed the connection, Howie’s son, Alex Mandel, denied that Kimmie had anything to do with Sandoval’s interview. “Kimmie does work for Alevy, but Alevy does not produce the podcast. My company, AMP Digital, does,” Alex tweeted on Tuesday, April 11. “I’m not friends with Tom personally and would never allow questions to be predetermined. What you watched was actually their raw conversation.”
Hours after the podcast premiered, Cohen slammed Howie as the “Jackhole of the Day” during WWHL. “Howie Mandel apparently didn’t know what he was getting himself into with his interview of Tom Sandoval today,” the producer quipped on Tuesday night. “Because it seems like maybe he didn’t do his homework?”
Sandoval, for his part, didn’t hold back sharing details about his affair with Raquel Leviss and split from longtime girlfriend Ariana Madix, which Us Weekly confirmed on March 3. The bartender claimed that he and Leviss, 28, shared their first kiss in August 2022 after the guys’ night that was documented earlier this season on Pump Rules.
“It was magnetic,” Sandoval recalled. “I felt something that I hadn’t felt in so long emotionally.”
The Schwartz & Sandy’s cofounder also claimed that he broke up with Madix, 37, in February, but she refused to accept the split.
“Obviously, she was very upset. She freaking punched me and all this s–t,” the Missouri native alleged. “A couple days later, I sit down and talk with her again, and she’s like, ‘I’m not letting you leave me. You’re gonna have to force me out of this relationship.’ I was like, ‘Ariana, I don’t think I could be faithful in a relationship with you right now.’ I hadn’t told her about Raquel yet. She’s like, ‘If you break up with me, you will effectively be ending my life.'”
While Cohen was upset by Sandoval’s tell-all, he assured viewers that he did a “great interview” with the reality star last month during the season 10 reunion taping. “I’m still looking forward to you all seeing that and hearing his perspective up against Raquel and Ariana,” the talk show host told listeners on Wednesday. “So, there’s still more to come.”
