A recent video featuring Canadian comedian and television personality Howie Mandel and adult content creator Sophie Rain went viral because of the way they greeted each other.
The extreme precautions the America’s Got Talent judge took before he shook hands with the influencer quickly grabbed eyeballs on social media.
While Rain, who has over 8.8 million followers on Instagram and reportedly made over $83 million from adult content in a year, did not seem to mind the awkward encounter, many called out Mandel’s behavior as “unnecessary” and “disrespectful.”
“If you don’t want to respectfully shake hands, why even meet that person?” one user said.
For the uninitiated, Mandel has acute Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and suffers from germophobia, is averse to any form of physical contact, and refuses to shake hands on the reality TV shows he appears in.
Howie Mandel wore latex gloves before he shook hands with Sophie Rain
Image credits: officialhowiemandel/TikTok
On May 30, Sophie Rain shared a video of herself with Howie Mandel after filming an episode of the latter’s podcast, Howie Mandel Does Stuff, captioning it with “Loved meeting you.”
The clip starts with Mandel asking Rain if she had wiped her hands. When she says yes, Mandel puts on a pair of green, elbow-length latex gloves before extending both his hands through two holes in a plexiglass barrier covering his head and torso down to the waist.
Image credits: officialhowiemandel/TikTok
“It is such a pleasure to meet you,” Mandel says from behind the plexiglass. Rain responds, “What a pleasure… through this plexiglass.”
The two even share a high-five at the end.
A large section of netizens made fun of Mandel taking such extensive measures before greeting Rain.
“Howie Mandel treating a handshake like he’s handling enriched uranium,” one person wrote. Another said, “The handshake had more security measures than some airports.”
Image credits: sophieraiin/Instagram
However, those who were aware of Mandel’s mental health conditions backed him up against the criticism.
“For someone with severe contamination fears, it can trigger significant anxiety and discomfort,” one person pointed out. “The gloves and glass barrier weren’t necessarily about the person he was greeting; instead, they were about managing his own condition.”
Howie Mandel’s wife threatened to leave him if he didn’t seek professional help
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During a 1998 interview on The Howard Stern Show, Mandel accidentally revealed that he had OCD and germophobia after a prop caused him to suffer an on-air panic attack. He initially feared that the revelation would risk his career due to the stigma surrounding mental health.
However, after the broadcast, an encounter with a stranger sharing a similar struggle convinced Mandel to speak openly about his condition, leading to his prominent role as an OCD awareness advocate.
In 2011, he told Ability Magazine that he was diagnosed with OCD and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in his forties, but had been suffering from the conditions since childhood. He was often labeled as an “outcast” by his friends and teachers, he confessed.
“I don’t remember a time when I didn’t feel there was an issue,” he said. “But I wasn’t diagnosed until adulthood.”
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“When I was a kid, I didn’t know anybody who went to a psychiatrist. There was always a stigma attached to mental health issues. I think there still is. But now I’m taking care of myself,” he said, adding that he was now on medication and therapy.
In 2016, he appeared on an episode of The Doctors show and admitted that his germophobia was something he battled “every waking moment” of his life: “The thought of germs triggers me — germs on my hands — so, it’s about not touching things.”
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He revealed that he preferred to fist bump instead, which is how he often greets contestants on his reality shows and fellow celebrities at public events.
In 2023, Mandel shared on ABC News that he went to a doctor and got an official diagnosis after his wife gave him an “ultimatum” of leaving him if he did not seek professional help.
Howie Mandel believes his germophobia stems from a “horror film”-type childhood experience
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In his 2009 autobiography, Here’s the Deal: Don’t Touch Me, Howie Mandel delved deeper into what he believes is the origin of his germophobia.
During a childhood trip to Florida, when he was 6-7 years old, a sand fly bit him and laid eggs under his skin. Doctors used liquid nitrogen to remove one larva, and his mother later scrubbed out the rest over several sessions.
Mandel later reiterated the memory during his 2025 appearance on In Depth with Graham Bensinger.
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“When you have these itchy little bumps, and you scratch them, and then you watch that itchy little bump crawl away under your skin to another place, it’s like a horror film,” Mandel said. “You are the horror film.”
It wasn’t just the insect eggs, but the nature of the treatment by the doctors that traumatized him even more so for life.
“They put me on a table in my tidy whities — I was a little boy — the nurses would hold me down… liquid nitrogen is so cold that it burns,” he offered. “I would watch my skin sizzle and bubble, and then it would open up and obviously k*ll the larva. I was screaming.”
Image credits: People
His mother stopped the treatment, calling the doctors “animals,” and took him home. She used a washcloth and regular liquor to rub his skin and get rid of the remaining larvae, one at a time.
He also revealed that both his mother and grandmother were fixated with neatness. His mother used to wipe down parts of his crib that visitors had touched, and his grandmother left plastic coverings on the sofas for guests to sit on.
“He treats everyone like a biohazard.” The internet weighed in on Howie Mandel’s gloved handshake with Sophie Rain
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