In a June 2021
interview with People,
"America’s Got Talent" judge Howie Mandel said the COVID-19 pandemic triggered his severe anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder, adding that he's "living in a nightmare."
"There isn't a waking moment of my life when 'we could die' doesn't come into my psyche," he told the outlet. "But the solace I would get would be the fact that everybody around me was okay. It's good to latch onto okay. But (during the pandemic) the whole world was not okay. And it was absolute hell."
Mandel, 64, first revealed in 2016 that he suffered from severe germophobia, a symptom from his OCD. On "Deal or No Deal" and "AGT," Mandel doesn't shake hands with contestants. Instead, he likes to exchange fist bumps.
The comedian said he copes by “finding the funny” because “if I'm not laughing, then I'm crying. And I still haven't been that open about how dark and ugly it really gets." He added, "Comedy saved me in a way."
Mandel said he’s speaking up about his condition to “remove the stigma." He said, "I'm broken. But this is my reality. I know there's going to be darkness again - and I cherish every moment of light."
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP