Howard Stern isn’t going anywhere just yet. The legendary radio host responded to rumors on Monday that he’d been fired from SiriusXM, confirming instead that he’s in the middle of contract negotiations with the satellite radio giant, making it clear he’s “very happy” where he is.
Howard Stern Returns to the Airwaves With a Prank
Stern returned to the SiriusXM airwaves on Monday, but his show started a little differently. Instead of his voice, listeners were pranked with Andy Cohen taking over the airwaves and implying that Stern was fired, and this was now his channel.
“This is, I know, not the voice that you expected to hear. This is not the voice that you probably wanted to hear, but it is I, Andy Cohen, and this is our first day broadcasting on Channel 100,” Cohen said, adding in a joke that the channel was now Andy 100. “I know that you’re expecting a big announcement from Howard, and this is not how things were meant to go.”
After a musical intro that included, “This could be the end of the Stern show,” Stern got on the mic. He told listeners he wasn’t on the show last week because he had been sick after attending Metallica’s show at the Stephen Talkhouse in the Hamptons, and he lost his voice.
Stern said he still has a cold, and it may affect his broadcasting schedule this week. He told listeners that his absence led to many people reaching out to him, asking if he’d been fired. Stern joked, “If I get fired, don’t write me.”
Contract Negotiations Still Happening
Howard Stern, who joined SiriusXM in 2006, went on to say he and his team have been talking about a possible new contract at SiriusXM and what that could look like.
“SiriusXM and my team have been talking about how we go forward in the future, they’ve approached me. They’ve sat down with me like they normally do, and they’re fantastic,” Stern said. “We’ve been talking.”
The rumors that Stern was fired brought out several other suitors for his show, he stated. However, he went on to say that he is “very happy at Sirius.”
Stern then went on to address some of the rumors that have been circulating, including the idea that he was leaving because of animosity over the hiring of podcaster Alex Cooper. He supports her hiring, saying, “I don’t know Alex Cooper. And if she is young and bubbly, God bless her because I’m the opposite.”
He added that there was “zero truth” to the rumors that he was fired for being “too woke,” The Hollywood Reporter stated.
Howard Stern joked that he has been thinking about retiring, but now, with all these rumors of him being fired, he can’t leave now.
Fans Have Mixed Reviews on Prank
A few fans called into the show on Monday, with one of them crying. They said they actually cancelled their subscriptions after the Cohen prank.
However, they have since reinstated them when Stern came back on the air. It affected SiriusXM’s shares too, as they briefly plummeted in pre-market trading following Cohen’s statements.
Others went to Instagram to share their love for the prank. One person wrote, “Who ever thought of this bit , bravo👏 . Andy was very good and very believable!!!,” and another added, “Andy 100 is epic! Saint Louis own! 😂 Nice job!!!”
