Howard Stern used the season premiere of his SiriusXM show on Monday to respond publicly for the first time to recent reports about his workplace and staff cuts, while also announcing his program’s new streaming home.
“I’ve never had a summer where I was treated so well in the press,” Stern, 72, told listeners, according to The Sun. “It was so positive. I can’t believe it. I can’t tell you how many different people have called me a scumbag.”
Stern denied an Aug. 7 report from The Sun claiming his staff had been told not to speak to him at company parties.
He also pushed back on characterizations of a recent Daily Mail interview with his wife, Beth Stern, in which she was described as “defending” him. Stern said she was simply answering a question about the show’s new streaming arrangement with HBO Max.
“They interpreted it some other way. They wrote just something they wanted to write, and said that she was defending me,” he said. “When did I ever need a defense?”
“If you think I’m a scumbag, you’re probably right,” he added.
Stern also addressed his decision to give up his Howard 101 channel, saying he “didn’t want the responsibility.”
“I’ve never been more successful. I am the most successful radio personality,” he said. “I mean, not that that’s anything to boast. I mean, it didn’t take much effort.”
He did not address layoffs affecting about a dozen staffers from his SiriusXM show, which were carried out in July.
Lawsuit background
Howard and Beth Stern, 54, were sued in April by their former executive assistant, Leslie Kuhn, who alleged they created a hostile work environment. Kuhn’s court filings described the pressure of managing the couple’s Hamptons home and assisting with Beth Stern’s at-home feline rescue operation.
Kuhn also alleged that Howard’s production company, One Twelve, presented her with a nondisclosure agreement she says she never signed, and claimed that both her firing and the NDA were “manufactured by the Defendants in general and Beth Stern in particular.”
A judge later ruled against Kuhn’s allegations that the production company had forged NDAs bearing her name, a victory for the Sterns.
New streaming deal
After dropping Howard 101, which was handed over to Andy Cohen’s “Radio Andy,” Stern signed a deal with HBO Max to stream new episodes of his show every Thursday. The show debuted on Sirius in 2006.
“Howard’s new series on HBO Max takes him to the pinnacle of prestige television and gives his fans a long-desired ‘seat in the studio’ to see what they just heard,” SiriusXM said in a press release last month.
Stern signed a three-year contract with SiriusXM in December, saying it would give him “flexibility.” “I am happy to announce that I have figured out a way to have it all,” he told listeners at the time. “More free time and continuing to be on the radio.”
His previous five-year deal with the network was reportedly worth $500 million, working out to roughly $8,000 per minute.
