This has been picking up some traction HS Reddit. Howard's never acknowledged or apologized about his past and his comments are extremely out of touch in today's climate.
Howard Stern's Racist Past
- Thread starter Dr. Feel Good
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I think he has pivoted to be more interview focused these days, instead of bits and rants.
He made fun of him.
But oh boy - there's a garage full of skeletons in Stern's past. I wonder if this will get traction.
I know. Shit would not fly today. It would not fly in the 2000s.
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The past 8 years he has pivoted the how to be politically correct and focus more on Hollywood elite, interviews, and more respectable dialogue. He's guests on his show are now Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen Degeneres, Bradly Cooper, Anderson Cooper, and Hillary Clinton.
Donald Trump used to like him and go on his show.
Howard flipped when he started doing that talent show on TV.
Howard flipped when he started doing that talent show on TV.
I mean if you've only been listening for the last 5-10 years this may be quite surprising
But anyone who's known him longer than that this is like the least surprising thing ever
Yup. To this day, Stern says that Trump was one of his best interviews. He hates his politics though, and he voted for Clinton.
He's probably a bigger scumbag now than he ever has been, and he is show is far less entertaining than it was in the past. I'm amazed that some people have bought into him as a changed man who does amazing interviews. He's the same guy, except he treats his staff even worse and has turned his back on old friends and acquaintances, and his interviews are absolute shit: he talks over his guests, doesn't listen to their responses, reads poorly researched questions, asks bullshit psychoanalytic questions to each guest, etc. At least in the old days his interviews had some element of surprise — chaos could occur at anytime because it was an insane asylum in that place.Not anymore.
and yeah, he has a long history of being a racist, sexist, whatever else-ist. He's an insecure narcissistic who treats his friends and staff like shit, but at least in the past his show was entertaining.
and yeah, he has a long history of being a racist, sexist, whatever else-ist. He's an insecure narcissistic who treats his friends and staff like shit, but at least in the past his show was entertaining.
Trump probably looked up to him, or at least envied his job at some point. Imagine Trump behind a mic all day talking to celebrities while people stroke his ego. He would love that.
Howard still considers Trump a friend btw.
I checked out one of his recent interviews and I really don't get the hype. I used to be a Stern fan when he was on terrestrial radio and during the Jackie the Jokeman years. I didn't follow him to Sirius.
There are many podcasters that have better interviewing technique than him. But he gets the big-name guests, so maybe that's the thing?
Daniel Carver. Those were some fantastic interviews and game shows that he participated in. They also visited his house and it turned out carver's wife might be even more disturbed than he was — she had a huge collection of dolls, including black ones, and of course the black and the white dolls were not allowed to mix.
For some degree of context, that was a parody of the Ted Danson/Whoopi Goldberg blackface incident.
As someone who listened for years, I checked out when Artie tried to kill himself. Dude is literally nodding out in front of you on air and you make it into a bit? Fuck off.
As someone who listened for years, I checked out when Artie tried to kill himself. Dude is literally nodding out in front of you on air and you make it into a bit? Fuck off.
Is this news for like maybe late millenials and Gen Z or something? Because ummm no shit, where they think he got whole "shock jock" thing came from?
Stern never really did drugs. In my experience, those that haven't known the nature of an addict are totally blind to their lies and behaviors. I really don't think he knew. Maybe he didn't want to know?
And FYI, if he says some bullshit about not using the n word, I'm fairly certain he's said it as recently as 2014. And before then, he'd say it quite often. He's always reminded me of rich twerp high schooler who will drive around and shout slurs from his car and then drive off giggling.
Pretty sure that's also a lie. there were black people, no doubt, but he's exaggerating. Howard loves to see himself as a victim. Boo hoo, he had such a hard childhood - his dad owned a recording studio, sent him to university, they lived in a nice house, etc. Yet he makes it sound like he started at the bottom and had nothing. He's one of the biggest wimps I've ever heard of.
Well they both are narcissists...
King of all Media and Greatest President
He was still doing that the last time I heard him, like 5 years ago.
Yeah, Howard is a deeply flawed person lol. I listen to him for hours as a teen. You really get to know a guy doing that lol.
He definitely didn't brag about it. He got beat up all the time in school and no one would be his friend for fear of reataliation. He talked one time about how someone in school beat him up because they wanted his pants.
Ad someone mentioned above Howard has basically changed throughout the years and is trying to paint his legacy as The Interviewer - but I've been waiting for this moment because his shows have been filled with so much crap throughout the years. Also yes, as someone mentioned that blackface incident was him making fun of that Ted Danson incident-but honestly who cares? He should have known better.
I don't remember the stories of him getting beat up. He mostly used to say in the context that wasn't some silver spoon kid in some Lilly white neighborhood.
It's insufferable. He's almost 70 and he's STILL hung up on high school and how his parents raised him. Move on already....That being said him talking about his parents is the best part of the show.
He was told by multiple people — guests and staff — on air that Artie was fucked up. If he couldn't see it or listen to others, that's on him.
Howard loves train wrecks and freak shows. I'm sure he didn't think Artie would take the turn he did, but he knew Artie was fucked up and he happily contributed to it for the sake of entertainment.
The neighborhood he grew up in had a lot of white flight when he was in school. Then when the population of his neighborhood gradually became predominantly black his parents kept their house and didn't want to move. So he went to a mostly black school in the 60s and according to him it was hard and he was ostracized. He was getting beat up enough that his parents eventually sold sold the house (much to his fathers chagrin) and moved to a different neighborhood. So when he graduated he wasn't in that school any longer. To hear him talk about it ad nasuem though is something.
Nope. His fans fucking HATE him and constantly bring up his racist jokes from the 80's and 90's. They are salivating for this moment.
Not because they are ashamed of his racist jokes, oh no. Because he betrayed them by "going soft after the 90's", "letting his hippie daughters make him woke", because he got uncomfortable with a famous roast comedian (I forget her name) in the late 2000's, throwing the gay slur f-word around and responding to an annoyed caller by explaining why he regrets ever using that word in the past and why it's not an ok word to say. They hate him for "becoming a lib". Most of them detected to Opie and Anthony but they still hate- listen.
His "Sirius XM apology era" won't erase Howard's past. It can't be erased. He's said some really horrible shit in the name of comedy.
But during my 10 year relationship with my ex who was a die hard fan, I learned a lot about a radio host that I grew up hating. I learned about his fans and trust me, they are salivating for the day that he gets "cancelled". They deeply resent the changes he went through, they feel like having George Takei a regular guest, publicly supporting Democrats, changing his language and his format are a betrayal. They think Artie was the last remnant of the old days and when they released him for refusing to get help, "that was the end of the show".
I hate that I know all of that. Spent those years lurking in the subreddit.
I haven't heard anything from him in several years but it will be interesting to see what he does here, it anything.
**Side-note: I stopped listening because I wasn't finding it funny anymore and it reminded me too much of my ex. I'm glad he yells at his listeners for supporting Trump, I'm glad he speaks up for gay rights but it's just not my show. I also really hate how he treats his staff, both on air and behind the scenes.
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That's what I see on Twitter as well. Howard went Hollywood. His second wife changed him, etc.
Artie admitted, multiple times, on air to struggling with heroin addiction. It was incredibly obvious to everyone what he was going through. They'd literally play the voice mails he'd leave calling out sick as he was going through withdrawals and make jokes about it. Or have him sleep in the studio so they could make fun of it. It got really dark. Artie is/was a mess, but he was always incredibly open about his life and demons on air, which endeared him to a lot of Stern's audience. Stern exploited that shit horribly. I get not knowing how to handle the situation, but he didn't even come close. And then Artie attempted suicide and is barely acknowledged any more. I'm sure he knows he fucked up, but it's still the scummiest thing he's done, in my opinion at least.
I disagree. I listened every morning during that period and I had no idea he was doing heroin. Addicts are really good liars and manipulators, and Artie could charm and distract anyone. Sure, maybe some knew. But I don't think Howard did.
Yeah all this is true. I like the show-the drama and spectacle from behind the scenes-Robin's cancer, Arties drama, the news stories and discussions Etc. but Howard himself is just a mess of a person. Just everything that happened with Scott the Engineer should be enough to clue anyone in what a cold and detached person Howard is.
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One of the biggest mysteries of the universe to me is why so many people love Howard Stern. I have never, ever been able to understand. Always rubbed me the wrong way.
Wooo, yeah that Rodney King stuff is bad...
Also, go listen to the radio show he did on 9/11. I looked it up once because it was kind of historically significant since that show was practically the only radio show still on air in New York that morning after everything went to shit that day. It was interesting and a bit surreal to hear people of the times immediate reactions to the events unfolding that day in real-time, but MAN there is some fucked up racist shit that comes out of pretty much everyone on the show and especially some of the people who call in. Like literally a person phones in screaming about how they are going to go out and start committing hate crimes.
I get that people were angry but that stuff is really not ok anymore. It was enlightening for being a time capsule of how people reacted to that moment (in good and bad ways) but really hard to listen to.
Also, go listen to the radio show he did on 9/11. I looked it up once because it was kind of historically significant since that show was practically the only radio show still on air in New York that morning after everything went to shit that day. It was interesting and a bit surreal to hear people of the times immediate reactions to the events unfolding that day in real-time, but MAN there is some fucked up racist shit that comes out of pretty much everyone on the show and especially some of the people who call in. Like literally a person phones in screaming about how they are going to go out and start committing hate crimes.
I get that people were angry but that stuff is really not ok anymore. It was enlightening for being a time capsule of how people reacted to that moment (in good and bad ways) but really hard to listen to.
I'll admit I was a huge fan during his prime but hadn't listened to him for a long time until about 4-5 years ago.
He's changed. His past isn't something that should be forgotten but the dude is honestly remorseful for the shit he did and talks about it quite a bit which pisses his original diehard fans off...a lot. I give him credit for changing, not many can.
He's changed. His past isn't something that should be forgotten but the dude is honestly remorseful for the shit he did and talks about it quite a bit which pisses his original diehard fans off...a lot. I give him credit for changing, not many can.
I mean, they're friends lol. Like going to each other's wedding type of friends.
Also, Howard is obsessed with having famous friends. And Trump is even more famous (good or bad) now.
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As someone who is still a listener today... when has he addressed this? It's a large criticism about today's show they don't address any difficult conversations anymore. He has never brought this up.
One thing he's always been good with is supporting gay rights. His cousin is gay and he's always publically advocated for gay rights. When I was a sheltered Southern Baptist kid growing up in the south-hearing Howard talk about stuff like that was really refreshing to me because no one else publically on the air was saying that.M-at least not that I heard. The blackface stuff though-he should be deeply deeply ashamed.