If you were on TikTok in July 2022, you probably remember the collective scream that echoed across the internet. It wasn't a viral dance or a new recipe. It was Howie Mandel. Specifically, it was a video that most people still can’t unsee. The America’s Got Talent judge—a man known for his extreme germaphobia and "Deal or No Deal" charm—shared a graphic, uncensored video of a rectal prolapse.
It was weird. It was gross. It was, frankly, traumatizing for anyone scrolling their For You Page while eating dinner.
Howie didn't just post it; he added a voiceover. He asked his millions of followers: “When my friend Neil bent over, this happened. Does somebody know, is this COVID-related? And if it is, what do we do about it?”
For nearly 17 hours, the video sat there. It didn't get caught by TikTok’s usually aggressive AI sensors. It just stayed up, racking up views and leaving a trail of "I should have minded my own business" tweets in its wake.
Why on earth did he post that?
Honestly, the explanation is almost as strange as the video itself. Howie eventually broke his silence on several podcasts, including H3 Podcast and 2 Bears, 1 Cave. His defense? He basically didn't know what he was looking at.
Mandel claimed he thought the image was a "wet cake" or some kind of weird puppet. He told Ethan Klein, "I just thought randomly that I’m gonna put up this gross picture." He didn't realize it was an internal organ that had decided to become an external organ.
It sounds like a stretch, right? You’ve seen a cake. You’ve seen... well, the other thing. But Howie insists he was just trying to be a "gross" comedian and didn't grasp the medical reality of the situation. He also admitted he was looking for "weird or gross" content online and stumbled upon it.
The backlash was instant and massive.
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- Sponsors bailed: Several brands reportedly distanced themselves from him immediately.
- Fans were horrified: His comments were flooded with people asking if he'd been hacked.
- The "Neil" mystery: To this day, nobody knows if there actually is a friend named Neil or if that was just part of the bit.
The medical reality: It’s not COVID-related
Despite Howie’s "medical" query, a rectal prolapse has absolutely nothing to do with COVID-19. Medical experts and organizations like Johns Hopkins define a rectal prolapse as a condition where the rectum (the last part of the large intestine) loses its internal attachments and telescopes out through the anus.
It’s painful. It’s serious. It usually requires surgery.
According to data from the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, this condition is most common in adults over 50, particularly women, though it can happen to anyone who experiences chronic straining or pelvic floor issues. Seeing it on a comedy account between a dog video and a sea shanty was the last thing anyone expected.
The aftermath and the "Apology"
TikTok eventually scrubbed the video, but the internet never forgets. Howie didn't really go the traditional "I'm so sorry" route at first. Instead, he leaned into the chaos.
A year later, he even posted a parody of Colleen Ballinger’s infamous "Toxic Gossip Train" ukulele apology. In his version, he sang about "getting on the prolapse train" while someone taped random items to his head. It was meta, it was bizarre, and it showed that Howie wasn't exactly losing sleep over the trauma he caused our collective retinas.
He did eventually clarify to his business partners that it wouldn't happen again. He told his agents he would start asking "What is this?" before hitting the upload button. A fair policy for a 70-year-old with ten million followers.
Why this moment matters in internet history
The "Howie Mandel Prolapse" incident is a case study in how celebrity culture and social media algorithms collide. Usually, TikTok’s moderation is like a digital fortress. Somehow, a legendary TV host bypassed it with one of the most graphic images allowed by the laws of physics.
It also highlighted the "weird" side of Howie Mandel. People forget he started in edgy stand-up. Underneath the clean-cut AGT judge is a guy who finds the grotesque hilarious.
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What you can learn from this (Actionable Insights):
- Check before you post: If you find a "gross" image online and don't know what it is, use a reverse image search before sharing it with 10 million people.
- Privacy Settings: If you’re a public figure, your "oops" moments don't just go away. They become part of your Google search results forever.
- Algorithm Gaps: Don't assume that because a video is "up," it’s safe or appropriate. Content moderation fails constantly.
- Medical Literacy: If something looks like an internal organ is on the outside, it probably is. It’s never "COVID-related."
If you are dealing with actual symptoms related to what was shown in that video, skip the TikTok comments and call a gastroenterologist immediately.
Next Steps:
If you're looking to clean up your own social media presence to avoid a "Howie moment," start by auditing your "Liked" and "Shared" history. You can also set up Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) on TikTok to ensure a "hack" (the most common celebrity excuse) never actually happens to you.