Pissed-Off Bill Burr Calls Howie Mandel ‘Hollywood Whore’ Over Billy Corgan Ambush
Howie Mandel had a light-bulb moment after Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan appeared on his podcast and confessed that he might be comedian Bill Burr’s long-lost half-brother. Why not have Burr on as a guest, then surprise him with an out-of-nowhere Corgan appearance?
The Jerry Springer-inspired stunt didn’t sit well with Burr when he figured out what was going on. “You’re an asshole,” the comic told Mandel as Corgan made his way to the podcast set.
Corgan seemed mortified. “He didn’t tell you?” said the singer, looking even more uncomfortable than Burr. “He told me you were totally cool with me coming.”
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“Can this be edited out?” Burr asked, not kidding.
“I can go,” Corgan offered.
“Fuck it,” said Burr before turning his irritation to Corgan for bringing up the dubious family connection in the first place. “Did you ever think the fact that I never told that story, that maybe you shouldn’t? Do you know many fucking emails and crap that I got? I just would prefer if you just didn’t go around telling these fucking stories.”
Then Corgan and Burr teamed up to bash Mandel and his gotcha antics. “What was supposed to happen?” Burr wanted to know. “Are we going to go play catch? We’re both in our 50s.”
“This is some Dr. Phil shit you got going on,” Corgan agreed.
“I think we’re kind of on the same page in thinking you’re kind of a dick right now,” Burr concluded.
The comedian has had some time to cool off, but appearing on Rich Eisen’s podcast this week, Burr let listeners know that his anger at Mandel was no act. “Howie did what he did because he is a Hollywood whore, and he doesn’t care what happens,” Burr said. “He could have said something (in advance), but he just brings up all that weirdness. I did not appreciate what Howie did. No, not at all.”
So is Burr hellbent on revenge? Not exactly. He doesn’t appear to hold a grudge against Corgan, at least not beyond his warning to stop telling tales about their shared parentage. “Billy’s fine,” Burr said. “I mean, that’s the first time I ever met him, but it was fine.”
Should Hollywood whore Mandel be watching his back? “Howie is sort of hard to hate, you know?” Burr sighed. “How do you hate a germaphobe? He’s not threatening. He just walks with his arms in so he doesn’t rub against curtains that he owns. That’s the weirdest thing about him. He’s a strange man.”
