On Tuesday’s episode, the 69-year-old comedian admitted being shocked by the backlash he received for the stunt but said he was sorry for the effect it had on Burr.
“I want to apologize. I feel horrible,” Mandel said, adding, “I’m sorry, Bill. I’m sorry, Billy. I only tried to do something good.”
Mandel said that he has been unable to reach Burr since the episode.
“I texted him and said, ‘Good episode.’ Didn’t answer. I said, ‘Is there anything I can do to further this, to follow up’? No answer,” Mandel lamented.
But his protests of innocence may not be telling the whole story.
After the original segment went viral, Mandel trolled the comedian and Corgan by posting a photo made by another user to Instagram Stories with their faces photoshopped onto the poster for the 2008 comedy “Step Brothers.”
The whole drama has its roots in a November appearance Corgan made on Mandel’s podcast in which he revealed that his stepmother told him he might be Burr’s half-brother.
The family connection is only a theory as there has been no DNA confirmation. Still, that didn’t stop Mandel from having Corgan surprise Burr during his Jan. 21 appearance.
Burr wasn’t happy, calling Mandel “an asshole” to his face while shaking Corgan’s hand.
Burr also accused Mandel of using his family issues solely to boost his own ratings, telling Corgan, “He’s bringing you in here, not because he’s trying to heal the bullshit that we went through growing up.”
He added: “What was supposed to happen? Are we going to go play catch? We’re both in our 50s.”
In an interview on “The Rich Eisen Show” after the ambush, Burr referred to Mandel as “a Hollywood whore” and said he “did not appreciate what Howie did. Not at all.”
However, he also admitted that it was hard to hate Mandel despite not liking the ambush.
“He’s Howie, so he’s sorta hard to hate,” Burr told Eisen. “How do you hate a germophobe? He’s like, not threatening. He just walks with his arms in so he doesn’t rub against curtains that he owns. … He’s a strange man.”
Meanwhile, Mandel admitted on Tuesday’s podcast that Burr’s feelings were hurt by his actions and said, “if he feels bad, I feel bad.” He also made another apology to Burr and Corgan at the end of the show.
“A sincere apology to Bill and Billy. I didn’t mean anything. Please call me or check in with me. I am truly sorry,” he said.
Watch Mandel discuss the incident in the video below starting at the 13-minute mark.
