Howie Mandel calls out Kelly Ripa’s backhanded compliment in tense live TV moment

Howie Mandel wasn’t amused by Kelly Ripa’s praise.

What started as a routine morning TV appearance took a sharp and awkward turn when Mandel pushed back on what he viewed as an age dig during "Live with Kelly and Mark" on Monday.

"You just celebrated 70 years. You're 70 years old," Mark Consuelos said, setting the stage — as Ripa added that "it doesn't make any sense."

Mandel immediately chimed in.

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"What do you mean it doesn't make any sense?" he asked.

Consuelos tried to keep it complimentary: "You look great!"

But Mandel didn’t appear happy with the response.

"I look great? That doesn't mean anything to me. No, no, no, no. I don't like that, because that's a caveat," he fired back, as his tone shifted.

Ripa attempted damage control in her previous comments.

"We're not saying you look great for 70. You look great," she insisted.

Mandel doubled down.

"Yes, you are, without saying ‘70,’" Mandel said.

Then Consuelos appeared to stand by the comments.

"I am saying that. I am saying that," he admitted.

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Mandel then reframed the "compliment" as an insult.

"It's like saying you're smart for a stupid person," he said.

"Yeah," Consuelos shot back, leaning into the moment as the audience reacted with laughter.

After the brief flash of tension, Mandel thanked Consuelos for his compliment.

"I'll be serious for a minute. I'm gorgeous!" he quipped, drawing laughs and re-setting the room.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Mandel, Ripa and Consuelos for comment.

The "America’s Got Talent" judge Mandel then revealed the unconventional fitness routine he credits for his appearance.

"Your friend, Jerry O’Connell, has got me into the most ridiculous workout I’ve ever done in my life," Mandel explained.

"I swim but … he bought me these swimming cables … which I tie onto my ankles, and then I attach them to whatever is at the side of the pool."

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He continued, describing his fitness routine in detail.

"Then he gave me these frying pan paddles, and I swim for an hour and go nowhere," Mandel said, adding that he gets "so lost in it."

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Earlier this year, the longtime Hollywood star weighed in on the biggest mistake entertainers can make after scoring their first real paychecks in an interview with Fox News Digital.

"Spending on anything," he said. "There's nothing to spend on."

"I love that book, ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad,’" Mandel continued, referring to Robert T. Kiyosaki's 1997 personal finance bestseller. "I had this theory before I read the book, but anytime you get a dollar, then you've got an employee if you can make your dollar work for you."

"So, instead of spending it or buying something that could get you into debt or something that's going to diminish in value, if you can get something, like, if you're going to buy a house, then buy a duplex and rent out the other ones, so the mortgage is free."