Skip to main content
Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
More On:
Simon Cowell
-
‘AGT’ Contestant Breaks Down In Tears After Being Awarded The Golden Buzzer From Heidi Klum For Her Take On Tina Turner’s “River Deep Mountain High”
-
Janice Dickinson Admits She “Tortured” Tyra Banks On ‘ANTM’ When She Was “Mean” To Contestants
-
Is ‘America’s Got Talent’ On Tonight? Here’s When The Next Episode of ‘AGT’ Airs On NBC and Peacock
-
‘Reacher’ Star Alan Ritchson Says Getting Cut From ‘American Idol’ Helped His Career — Even Though Producers Tricked Him Into Filming A Fake Storyline
During last night’s (Sept. 19) installment of America’s Got Talent, Howie Mandel was stirring the pot, but nobody was less amused than Simon Cowell.
In the middle of country duo Trailer Flowers’ performance of their original song “Who You Are,” Mandel pressed Heidi Klum‘s Red X buzzer, which rang out for the audience to hear, and lit up above the stage for fans to see.
Following the performance, host Terry Crews addressed the “controversy” from onstage.
“Howie, did you push her buzzer?” he asked. “Was that what happened? We got a playback, we got proof.”
“It was not me, girls!” Klum exclaimed in defense.
Mandel refuted, “I would not press my buzzer in the semi-finals,” despite the playback catching him red (X) handed.
“What is going on with you, Howie?” Klum asked, as the audience began to boo Mandel. “There is an invisible line right here. This is your side, this is my side.”
At this point, Mandel had already expressed some seemingly out-of-pocket sentiments of his, telling singer Lachuné that her performance of Tina Turner’s “The Best” — that prompted standing ovations from Sofia Vergara, Klum, and Cowell — was not “enough to get [her] to the finals,” per Yahoo! Entertainment.
Once it became Cowell’s turn to share his thoughts on Trailer Flowers’ song, he started off with an apology on behalf of the production team for playing into Mandel’s behavior.
“First of all, I don’t think the producers should have done what they just did, because we don’t have a lot of time to talk and actually give you something constructive,” he said to the performers. “So I apologize.”
He then proceeded to provide the duo with constructive feedback, particularly that they need a “better song,” but that he likes them, acknowledging that “it’s very tough out there right now, particularly in Nashville,” the hub of country music.
Leave it to Cowell to set things straight. He certainly has come a long way since his American Idol days.
America’s Got Talent airs episodes Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC. Next-day streaming is available on Peacock. Watch the video of Trailer Flowers’ performance and Mandel’s buzzer antics above.
