In a bit of tense moment on Live with Kelly and Mark this week, host Kelly Ripa, 55, got called out very openly for using some ageist language. Comedian and television host Howie Mandel, who just celebrated his 70th birthday, directly confronts Ripa for using the prevalent “you look great FOR YOUR AGE” jab. Yes, it’s a jab. Here’s why.
The conversation starts out simple enough. Ripa and her co-host husband Mark Consuelosopen up the chat with Mandel congratulating him on his recent 70-year milestone birthday. “Yes, I’m 70,” Mandel says, smiling to the live audience.
Ripa cheerfully interrupts Mandel then, saying, “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“What do you mean that doesn’t make any sense?” Mandel immediately and defensively snipes back.
And Ripa continues to say, “Because you look…”
“I don’t like that,” Mandel stops Ripa, calling out both her and Consuelos for putting his healthy, fit looks directly in context with his age.
Ripa tries to counter, “We’re not saying you look great for 70. You. Look. Great.”
Mandel refutes again, adding the hilarious line, “”It’s like saying you’re smart for a stupid person.”
Related: ‘X-Files’ Gillian Anderson, 57, Stuns on Paris Fashion Week Runway, Crushing Myths About Aging
Mandel is not wrong. Many of us are guilty of using this kind of ageist language, but it actually is an underhanded jab whether we’re conscious of it or not. Making the assumption that a person will look or present a certain way based on how old they are is ageism at its best.
Sure, we know Ripa likely didn’t mean anything cruel by it, but it’s an important callout for sure. After all, it’s this exact kind of bias that leads to age discrimination all over the place in our looks-, fitness-, and beauty-obsessed society.
Surely, more women in Hollywood face this kind of everyday prejudice than men, but it’s important for men to call it out when they see it too.
Watch the full segment with Howie Mandel on Live with Kelly and Mark:
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