Howie Mandel Mocks Bulimia Victims on ‘America’s Got Talent’? Apologizes on Twitter

If you're a sufferer of bulimia, comedian Howie Mandel was not your friend on Tuesday night's episode of America's Got Talent. Mandel reportedly made light of the disease during a performance from fan-favorited performer Stevie Starr, a "professional regurgitator" – a guy who makes a living by swallowing things and regurgitating them back up. And, well, Twitter wasn't having it.

After the performance, in which Starr regurgitated judge Heidi Klum's $500,000 ring inside a lock (we know it was half a million dollars because she mentioned it multiple times), Mandel claimed he was "the best act of the night." He then said, knowing that it was going to come out wrong, that Starr makes "bulimia entertaining."

Which, truthfully, isn't wrong. But that didn't mean Twitter enjoyed the joke. Here's The Regurgitator in action:

When the show came back from commercial, Mandel acknowledged the backlash from the comment, noting that it is live television and he wasn't thinking when he made the bulimia comment:

"I made a comment earlier; it's live television, I wasn't thinking. I made light of bulimia, which is a very serious eating disorder and mental health issue. I deal with mental health all the time, and I did something stupid. I should never make light of it, and I apologize to anybody that was offended."

Take a look at the apology:

Afterwards, he took to his personal Twitter account to apologize yet again to anyone who was offended.

So, was Mandel's apology necessary, or was it just another case of people being very sensitive when a comedian makes a joke?