Germaphobe Howie Mandel won't shake hands, but will gladly touch Sofia Vergara's feet

Howie Mandel, a noted germaphobe who reportedly dislikes shaking hands, seems to be just fine with touching feet.

The America's Got Talent panelist poked fun at his infamous aversion to germs on Instagram Wednesday, sharing a photo in which he grasps fellow judge Sofia Vergara by the ankles.

"I'll do anything to not shake hands," Mandel wrote in the caption of the post, which shows Vergara playfully gasping during the interaction. "This is too good," the official AGT later commented.

Vergara also shared the photo to her Instagram page: "We r almost liiive!!"

Mandel has long been open about his germaphobia, which led him down a dark path during the coronavirus pandemic after he contracted COVID at the 2022 Kids' Choice Awards.

"I got locked away for 10 days. I'm vaxxed, and I'm boosted, so my symptoms weren't terrible," he told TMZ at the time. "But.... the mental pain of me being locked in a room for 10 days, not going near anybody.... I went insane."

See Mandel's Instagram post above. America's Got Talent airs Wednesdays on NBC.

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