Howard Stern finally addressed the future of his SiriusXM show Monday morning, and he did it in quintessential Howard Stern fashion.
All throughout the summer, there were rumors that Stern’s contract with the satellite radio giant was in jeopardy. The 71-year-old broadcasting legend told fans last month that he would be back on the air in September, but until today there was no guarantee about anything beyond the end of 2025.
On his show this morning, Stern finally revealed his fate, using Bravo TV personality Andy Cohen to help deliver the news.
Now, it can officially be said that Stern isn’t going anywhere.
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“I’m very happy at Sirius,” he told his audience.
However, it took a while for Stern to finally reassure his listeners that he would be returning.
First, he needed Cohen to assist him with a prank.
Andy Cohen “took over” the show
When Stern’s show went on the air this morning, it was Cohen, the longtime Real Housewives host, behind the mic, teasing that he was taking over the spot for his own program, “Andy 100.”
“This is probably not the voice that you wanted to hear, but it is I, Andy Cohen, and this is our first day broadcasting on ‘Andy 100,'” Cohen said.
“There’s been a lot of talk about what’s going to happen with Howard’s deal. Is he fired? I don’t know how much I’m allowed to say, except that he’s not here and I am,” Cohen added. “Howard was supposed to start the show today, and this was supposed to be something of a cleaner handoff. There is nothing clean about it. Here we are. I’m kind of winging it.”
Cohen later said that he “can’t overstate what Howard has meant to this company” and he “can’t possibly fill his void.”
However, Stern eventually hopped on and shared what was really going on.
Stern explains it all
The Radio Hall of Famer was originally expected back on the air Sept. 2 before announcing his return would be delayed until today. Many assumed it was because of contractual reasons, but Stern explained Monday he was simply under the weather.
He then went on to address the elephant in the room: reports of his radio demise.
“I was just getting so f—–g annoyed with everyone writing me, asking me if I was okay because I’d been fired,” Stern explained.
“I’m minding my own business, enjoying my summer vacation. [A reporter] says that I’ve been fired for being too woke. In light of the Stephen Colbert firing — because the word on Stephen was that it was all part of this merger, and they fired Stephen because he’s too woke — the story then became ‘Howard Stern is fired because he’s too woke.’ I still don’t even know what that means.”
Stern later said there was “zero truth” to his job being in jeopardy. This coming January will mark 19 years for him at SiriusXM.
