The "America's Got Talent" judge joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and told us the real story behind his wife Terry's nasty spill in their hotel room at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas.

Howie's clearing the air here because he and his wife are upset some media outlets claimed she was drunk when she fell ... an inference after Howie told "Live With Kelly and Mark" his wife was "tipsy" after a night of too much partying.

Don't get it twisted, Howie says Terry doesn't have a drinking problem ... he says she just ate weed gummies and fell hard in the room, walking around when he was fast asleep. Howie says he didn't want to say she was high at first, which is why he went with "tipsy" as an all-encompassing term for her intoxicated state.

But, turns out ... weed is more respectable than alcohol these days ... and Howie and Terry may have a golden opportunity for a brand deal here.

Now that we've got all that cleared up, the rest of Howie's story is pretty wild ... he tells us why Terry's injuries and a bloody mess in their hotel room almost led to him becoming a domestic violence suspect.

Howie's got a great sense of humor about the whole thing -- but it sounds like Terry's comedic genius did him no favors in Vegas.

The full interview with Howie is TV gold ... catch it tonight on "TMZ Live."