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Sofía Vergara abruptly stops a lie detector test after Howie Mandel’s question

Vergara takes the Tot Seat


Jovita Trujillo
Jovita Trujillo - Los Angeles
Senior WriterLos Angeles
SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 5:34 PM EDT

Sofia Vergara was not having it on a recent taping of America Got Talent. The judge was taking a lie detector test live on the show in the “Tot Seat,” a thrown made out of fake tater tots, when her fellow judges, Heidi Klum, Simon Cowell, and Howie Mandel, had the opportunity to ask her questions. One of Mandel’s questions seemingly rubbed her the wrong way, and she bailed on the segment.

America's Got Talent   Season 18© GettyImages

The Modern Family star answered several questions, failing a few of them. When Mandel had his chance to ask another question, he asked if she saw, “anybody in the audience tonight that she was interested in.” The audience went wild, cheering and on their feet, and Vergara ripped off the polygraph with a shocked look on her face, declaring, “That’s it.” “Okay I think she’s done,” host Terry Crews said.

America's Got Talent   Season 18© GettyImages

The question came after Vergara failed questions like when Cowell asked if he is “always right.” “Yes,” Vergara answered coyly, which was deemed a lie. Cowell followed up by asking who she would push off a cliff, him or Mandel, and after she said Mandel, it was also deemed a lie.

While the 67-year-old comedian might be in hot waters with Vergara, she did say Howie was the smartest judge when he asked, which was deemed truthful.

It’s not the first time the Deal or No Deal star has teased the Hot Pursuit star after her divorce from Joe Manganiello. Last month, he made a joke when ventriloquist Brynn Cummings’ puppet Lovebird flirted with him and Klum. “If you’re looking for eligible bachelors, you should’ve talked to Sofía because she’s in the market right now,” Mandel quipped.

Mandel caught some backlash but said he didn’t have any malicious intent in the joke and was just trying to help her. “People said it was too soon, and it was tasteless,” he admitted. But, he said the Griselda star took it all in good fun. “She came over, and she thought it was funny,” Mandel told ET. “She [said it was] good [and said] how much she wants that.”

Vergara and Manganiello filed for divorce in July after seven years of marriage. “We have made the difficult decision to divorce. As two people that love and care for one another very much, we politely ask for the respect of our privacy at this time as we navigate this new phase of our lives,” they said in a joint statement.