Comedian Howie Mandel may have gotten the shock of his life when UFC boss Dana White abruptly walked out of Mandel’s podcast only 30 seconds into the interview.
It was not exactly obvious what set White off, but his bizarre walkout occurred right after Mandel delivered a long-winded but warm introduction.
“Dana White, you are an amazing guy. I can’t thank you enough for being here. You and Ginger seem to be getting along. You are not only an amazing businessman, you are an inspiration,” Mandel said as he introduced White. “You are a philosopher — the way you do business, the way you conduct your business and your friendships and media, I’m jealous. Dana, I can’t thank you enough for being here.”
As soon as Mandel’s odd little intro was done, White replied, “Thank you for all the kind words, I appreciate it.”
But then he added a less-than-thankful addendum.
WARNING: The following video clips contain language that some may find offensive.
Dana White walked off Howie Mandel’s podcast in the first 30 seconds 😭 pic.twitter.com/JvQKDZKlZj
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) February 14, 2024
“I am so f***ing tired of doing podcasts. I am literally done with them. I am not doing any more podcasts,” White said before taking off his headphones, getting up and stalking out of the room.
Did Dana White do the right thing?
As the door closed, Mandel made a quick shift in focus. After watching White walk past him and out the door, he turned to his other guest and began talking to her, completely ignoring White’s exit.
One might think that Mandel would be incensed over the slight. But he just moved on almost immediately.
It almost seems like it was staged as a joke. But so far, neither White nor Mandel have made any statements about the incident.
Some people speculate that this was a “stunt” so more people watch Mandel’s podcast.
At the moment it is unclear what actually happened.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 14, 2024
Speculation was rampant on social media, of course, and many felt that White could have been triggered because Mandel’s intro seemed a bit off.
That was the gayest intro ever. You could tell this guy had no idea who he was talking to and I think Dana probably just didn’t want to waste the next 2 hours of his life with some fake ass people
— E (@ElijahSchaffer) February 14, 2024
You think he walked off because he realized all that stuff Howie said was some concocted babble he found on the internet?
Dana was like bro, we’ve never even spoken, he felt that fake coming through the mic.
And why is the Liver King there?
— Furious Robinson (@FuriousRobinson) February 14, 2024
He felt how fake and disingenuous Howie was speaking right out the go.
— 🟣SLAYDRO (@DroThaSoundGod) February 14, 2024
That was a weird vibe from the start
— Juiceboxxcrypto (@djhugocastro) February 14, 2024
Real recognizes real, which also means real recognizes fake.
— Aviate ATK (@AV8ATK) February 14, 2024
This is the way. Proud of Dana White for walking off Howie Mandel’s podcast. If you don’t treat your guests with respect you should expect them to walkout like Dana did. Kudos @danawhite. pic.twitter.com/EGZZdBbCSG
— @amuse (@amuse) February 14, 2024
Neither White nor Mandel has commented on this incident, so speculation is all anyone has at present.
