"He wanted the ratings"— Internet reacts to Howie Mandel's apology to Bill Burr after the Billy Corgan controversy

Howie Mandel is "sorry" for blindsiding Bill Burr and Billy Corgan during his Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast last month. Burr was invited to the podcast for its January 21 episode, but it quickly turned tense when the Deal or No Deal host brought a special guest— Corgan, Burr's alleged half-brother.

However, weeks after the fiasco, Mandel apologized, although he reasoned that he was only trying to "do something good." In the recent episode of his podcast, shared on Monday, February 4, 2025, he said:

'"I feel horrible, and I'm sorry, Bill. I'm sorry, Billy. I only tried to do something good."

While the America's Got Talent judge doubled down that he "legitimately thought" that he was "doing something nice," netizens have other opinions. One, in particular, accused Mandel of only wanting the ratings for his podcast.

"He wanted the ratings. He got what he wanted," a Reddit user commented.

Fan comment on Howie Mandel (Image via @Junglepass/ Reddit)

Netizens criticized the AGT judge for the stunt he pulled, further accusing him of using the two and their alleged relationship to get ratings and profit.

"This is such a bizarre thing to do in the first place. Like who thinks of doing this? I'm mostly confused as to why he thought it would be a good or funny idea," a Reddit user wrote.

"Mandel is a STUNT QUEEN. The man knew exactly what he was doing. It was inappropriate & odd & he did it to get ratings," another user on Reddit commented.

"Obviously, he saw a chance to profit off of it and did it. He just feels horrible that it's getting negative reviews of him "ambushing" them for his podcast," a Reddit user added.

Meanwhile, other social media users said that they understood why Burr would be upset about the stunt.

"It WAS a stupid joke, but Bill Burr REALLY guards his family. Anyone listening to him since ever or forever would realize that," a user on Reddit wrote.

"Anyone watching that could tell Burr was kinda pissed and didn't find it funny lmfao. I mean you're playing with the respect of his dad, the one he grew up with and knew to not have a second family," a Reddit user added.

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Bill Burr previously accused Howie Mandel of blindsiding him with Billy Corgan for the "f**king ratings"

During the January 21, 2025, episode of Howie Mandel Does Stuff, things got tense when Mandel brought Billy Corgan as a surprise guest. Corgan reportedly told Mandel in November last per, per a Billboard article published in February 2025, about how his stepmom told him years ago that Bill Burr "might be" one of his father's children while he was traveling as a musician.

When Corgan sensed the awkwardness onset during the podcast, he offered to leave, especially after learning that Burr didn't know that he would come, opposite to what Howie Mandel had told him. However, Burr said it was fine, also referred to Mandel, saying:

"He always does that... He's bringing it here, not because he's trying to heal the bulls**t that we went through growing up. He's getting here just for the f**king ratings."

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Howie Mandel mentioned in the latest episode of his podcast that he had reached out to Bill Burr several times since his guesting, but he said that the comedian-actor hasn't responded to him.