When a trio of Ukrainian acrobats fell multiple times from dangerous heights on the “America’s Got Talent” stage, famously OCD judge Howie Mandel nearly had a nervous breakdown.
“The strain within the room and the fear … I remember saying, ‘I can’t watch this,’” he told The Post of the balancing act from the feminine troupe, who call themselves Three G.
“These are three young individuals who have left a war-torn country where their life is in jeopardy and their family’s life and their future.”
The ladies — who appeared on “AGT’s” Season 18 premiere last week — kept picking themselves back up and trying again — which was an inspiration to Mandel.
“They may risk all the things and you are feeling it through tears and pain and injury simply to make a greater life perhaps in a distinct place for themselves and also you sense that on the stage,” he said.
The audacious acrobats are still within the running — after Mandel and fellow judges Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, and Heidi Klum voted to maintain them within the competition.
The 67-year-old Canadian native — who made his debut on “AGT” in 2009 — said contestants make the leap, knowing they will profit from the exposure they gain through the NBC series.
“It’s not only a silly talent show. It’s life-changing,” he explained. “Should you go down the Vegas strip now, I don’t think there’s a billboard alive that doesn’t have some connection in some approach to ‘America’s Got Talent.’”
What happens on the “AGT” stage stays on the Vegas strip and Mandel named ventriloquist Terry Fator, magician Mat Franco, and hip hop dance crew Jabbawockeez as just a few of the show’s success stories who currently have shows in Sin City.
Nonetheless, he does admit that a few of the competitors this season — just like the man who got here all the way in which from Japan and landed a remote-controlled helicopter on his backside — are amusing.
“I used to be the one one which gave it a standing ovation,” he said. “That guy who’s landing helicopters on his own ass. There’s no middle ground. You’re either laughing hysterically or crying uncontrollably.”
Mandel, who’s open about his OCD and germaphobia, is so committed to the series that he got COVID due to it — after he was asked to simply accept a Kids’ Selection Award for Best Reality Show in April 2022.
“They said, ‘You’ve got to indicate up … It’s good coverage and it is going to go viral.’ And I feel the one thing that went viral was me,” he quipped.
He’s friends with all of the judges outside of labor and attended Klum’s fiftieth celebration on June 1 — just without Cowell, who was filming “Britain’s Got Talent.”
“We were all together … and that’s not a rare thing,” he said. “We exit, we hang around and we’re legitimately friends,” he said.
When he just isn’t on set, he hosts a podcast “Howie Mandel Does Stuff,” along with his daughter, Jackelyn Shultz. The show — which has welcomed guests like Tom Sandoval, Al Franken, Rob Zombie, and Pauly Shore — got here about due to pandemic when the pair couldn’t see one another in person for 2 years.
“We used to spend hours on the phone not only talking to one another but doing pranks or calling my celebrity friends,” he said.
A future dream guest is Sacha Baron Cohen. I really like his comedy and I really like what he does and I really like his activism,” he gushed. “My favorite sort of comedy is pranks and hidden camera stuff. And he’s the king of that.”
Mandel is loving the podcast format. “I just like the joy of interaction and connection without actually touching,” he said.
