Howie Mandel is seen wearing a hazmat suit in Los Angeles. Photo / Getty Images
Howie Mandel is seen wearing a hazmat suit in Los Angeles. Photo / Getty Images
Howie Mandel is taking coronavirus panic to the next level as he rocked up to the set of America's Got Talent in a hazmat suit.
Photos show the famous germaphobe making his grand entrance at the Pasadena Civic Centre, California in a full hazmat suit, including gloves and a gasmask.
The judge, who was apparently poking fun at himself, also brought along a black baseball cap for good measure.
"I'm always on the verge of death in my head," he told "20/20."
The comedian and actor, who takes medication for the disorder, is known to not shake other people's hands and instead give out fistbumps.
Howie Mandel is seen wearing a hazmat suit in Los Angeles. Photo / Getty Images
According to ABC News, other habits he has picked up because of his phobia include his make-up artists having to use new sponges every day, he won't touch his money unless it's been washed and he avoids handrails like the plague.
In 2015, one of the contestants on America's Got Talent hypnotised Mandel to shake hands with other judges — but his phobia returned when he came back to his normal state.
On Sunday, Mandel continued poking fun at himself as he rocked up at the studio carrying a roll of toilet paper as customers have started buying stacks of the item amid coronavirus panic-buying.
"Stores out of water and masks. Just a helmet and toilet paper, #safety," he joked on Instagram later.
Speaking to ABC News about his OCD, he said his biggest fear is being triggered, as the trigger can cause his day to come to a halt.
Howie Mandel continued poking fun at himself by showing up to the studio carrying a roll of toilet paper. Photo / Getty Images
"I once missed an appointment because I left my house, I locked the door. And then I thought, like anybody else, you know, I don't think I locked the door. I just kept going back to the door. And I couldn't stop myself from checking and checking," he recalls.
Mandel checked the lock 32 times before he took his fist and punched the handle.
Mandel is comfortable joking about his condition and even wrote a comedic autobiography entitled Here's the Deal: Don't Touch Me.
Howie has been a mainstay judge on America's Got Talent since joining the show in 2010.
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Auditions have already begun for season 15, with judges Sofia Vergara, Simon Cowell, Mandel and Heidi Klum returning when the popular reality television series airs.
