Howard Stern Calls Himself a "Scumbag" on Season Premiere, Dodges Layoff Questions

Howard Stern didn’t waste any time addressing the elephant in the room when his SiriusXM show returned for a new season. He opened by sarcastically calling himself a“scumbag,”a direct response to the wave of negative press he’s been getting lately. He told listeners he can’t count how many people have called him that, then added,“If you think I’m a scumbag, you’re probably right.”Whether that’s a joke, a confession, or a little of both is up to you.

The radio host also denied a Sun report claiming his staff was instructed not to speak to him at company parties, and he clarified that his wife Beth’s recent Daily Mail interview wasn’t a defense of him at all, it was about HBO Max streaming. Stern confirmed he gave up his Howard 101 channel simply because he didn’t want the responsibility anymore. Andy Cohen now helms that channel under the Radio Andy banner. What Stern didn’t mention was the July layoffs that impacted roughly a dozen staffers, a silence that hasn’t gone unnoticed.

All of this comes as Stern navigates a lawsuit from former assistant Leslie Kuhn, though a judge did rule against her NDA forgery claims. Meanwhile, he’s locked in a new three-year SiriusXM deal and an HBO Max streaming agreement, so he’s clearly not going anywhere. Love him or leave him, Howard Stern remains one of radio’s biggest stories. What do you think, should Stern have addressed the layoffs directly, or is it nobody’s business but his own?