Some people flat-out love Howard Stern. I’m not one of them, although I respect Stern and I think he’s probably one of the best interviewers in America. I’m old enough to remember his shock-jock days and all of that stuff, although to be fair to him… he’s gone “legit” for the most part over the past decade, and it agrees with him. I also respect the fact that he’s more of a progressive-liberal person, and that he’s currently supporting Hillary Clinton.
Stern’s name keeps coming up throughout the election because people keep finding these disgusting “gems” in Stern’s previous interviews with Donald Trump. HRC could string together attack ads against Trump by simply using audio clips from his Stern interviews, honestly. For the most part, Stern hasn’t said much about how his Trump interviews are being used in the media, but on Monday’s show, Stern finally spoke about several Trump-related topics. Some highlights:
Whether Stern believes Trump’s “locker room talk” excuse: “A lot of the show that I’ve been doing for my entire life, radio show publicly, is an effort to sort of do ‘locker room talk,’ to express all kinds of s–t and just not even care what anyone thinks. But this idea of ‘locker room talk’ … all the times I’ve been around guys — and believe me when I’m around guys 85 percent of the times you’re talking about p–sy — but I have never been in the room when someone has said, ‘Grab them by the p–sy.’ No one’s ever advocated going that step where you get a little bit, ‘Hey, I’m going to invade someone’s space.’ A lot of [locker room banter is] real kind of desperate talk. The reason it’s in a locker room is because no one’s proud of it.”
Stern is honestly not trying to ‘f—k over’ Trump: “These conversations that I had with Donald Trump weren’t done in private like the Billy Bush tapes; this was on the radio. Why don’t I play all the tapes? I have to tell you why: I feel Donald Trump did the show in an effort to be entertaining and have fun with us, and I feel like it would be a betrayal to any of our guests if I sat there and played them now where people are attacking him.”
Stern doesn’t get why Trump even ran for president: “I said, ‘Why are you doing this? Why would a guy with billions of dollars [run for president]? … Don’t you know what they’re gonna do to you? Don’t you know they’re gonna open up everything?’ Quite frankly, as someone just said, I’m surprised they didn’t find these earlier. There’s nothing to find. As the guy said, they were right there in the open.”
Stern also reiterated the fact that he’s not the one releasing or re-releasing the Trump interviews, which… yes, that’s the truth. Stern’s fans keep archives of his shows, and most of Stern’s biggest interviews are published on YouTube, Soundcloud, etc. It’s just a matter of people/journalists going through those old interviews and actually listening to them and transcribing them. As for what Stern says about locker room talk… I’m glad that he’s differentiating because I do feel like that’s the key: I do believe that men talk about women and “p—sy” in the locker room. I do not believe that men regularly talk/brag about sexual assault in the locker room. There is a difference. The difference is consent.
How weird is it that Howard Stern has the moral high ground on Donald Trump?
Photos courtesy of WENN, Getty.
“How weird is it that Howard Stern has the moral high ground on Donald Trump?”
and Tom Brady.
He’s not releasing anything because he’s a celebrity buttkisser now. Fifteen years ago, Stern would have gleefully released whatever he had. I preferred him then.
He doesn’t need to release them himself. You can find them on the net and YouTube. So he can remain above the fray with no trouble. I don’t have a problem with that.
He already said nothing is hidden. It’s all there out in the open if someone has the tenacity to comb through it.
“He’s not releasing anything because he’s a celebrity buttkisser now. Fifteen years ago, Stern would have gleefully released whatever he had. I preferred him then.”
Exactly…he married Beff ad now he is an insufferable asskisser.
“It’s called locker room talk because no one’s proud of it.”
I thought what he said was quite insightful. And it rings true that men would of course talk about women and sex, but in a desperate sort of way, not primarily in a sexually assault-ey way.
And that quote. So true. I’m not a big fan of any “shock jock,” but he’s not a stupid guy. Never has been.
Exactly. I wasn’t a huge fan of Stern’s show back in the 90s, but I listened occasionally, and honestly I felt like his real shtick was making fun of stupidity. Despite the raunchy, crass bits on the show, he had some really good interviews and comedic elements.
My dad worked with Stern for years before he retired. He respected Stern, said he was brilliant about the radio business and an all-around nice guy, not like his on-air persona. I always found this fascinating since my father is a very conservative Republican and Stern isn’t. However, Stern is wrong in this instance, the tapes should be released. I listened to Howard for years and Trump’s personality shines through all those appearances, “entertaining” or not.
Trump could become president, so releasing the tapes is public service.
I think Stern is a slime. No better than Trump. The racist sexist things he as said over the years has been disgusting. I call BS on him being an all around nice guy not like his on air oersona. Is that the exact same thing Trump is saying? Everyone who knows Trump swear that he is so different in person.
Stern has said for years that his on-air shtick is just that shtick. Privately, he’s an introvert who has always supported liberal Democratic candidates. While I agree his on-air persona can be vile somedays, his core audience is 18-25 year old MEN. That demographic is who he has always catered to, so Stern acts like a jerk to get them to tune in. At heart, he’s a comedian, no different than Richard Pryor or Eddie Murphy, whose acts could be problematic in regards to women too. His book, Private Parts better explains who he is and his reasoning for his douchebag on-air persona. While I enjoy listening to Stern on a limited basis, he needs to release the Trump tapes, as does Mark Burnett.
Do you even listen to the show? What has he ever said that was racist?
I can believe Stern was playing a character very different from himself. Stern shocked Trump once when Trump was going on and on about his “conquests” and asked Stern to talk about some of his. Stern said he was a happily married man and was faithful to his wife, and didn’t do that kind of thing. Trump found that hard to believe.
I think Stern is a slime ball who will say or do anything for ratings/relativity, BUT he is not running for President and he doesn’t deign to think he would be a good President. He seems to know his place in the world. They are both misogynistic pigs but the difference is, Sterm played on that for popularity with his young dumb men audience whereas Trump really is just that way and his views on women are how he really has lived his life. To me, it is the same difference as Adam Corolla v. Bill Cosby. One talks smack for attention. One actually behaves like an animal because it’s who he is.
I believe this about Stern, as I know people who have worked with him too. It is all a persona, and you may be right about Trump too. However, I wouldn’t vote for Stern for President either, but if Trump wants to be a radio personality go for it. I am sure some will listen to him. I hold the office of the Presidency a bit higher than radio personality.
What I don’t understand is why people would vote for Trump. A lot of people outside of New York City, only know Donald Trump the brand, not the real person. As far as a real estate developer he hasn’t built much in decades, others build and he sells his name to it. While this is lucrative especially for him, not sure how this experience creates jobs and helps the economy. It just dumbfounds me how people fell in love with the celebrity idea of him, but know so little. When you look at some of his supposed accomplishments, not sure how the workers from Trump Casinos, Trump Airlines, and Trump Steaks would think he is a great job creator.
It’s sad, because if they knew him previously, they might not believe the things he said. The man is really a marketer of himself, and he is pretty good at it. If he by some chance get elected, bet his supporters are more than disappointed by the outcome.
I think Stern is saying that he isn’t going to be the person putting the interviews on air right now because they are already available in various places. As an interviewer, I understand why he wouldn’t want to be the person pushing those out if he wants to continue to have guests be open and honest on air and anyone can already get the podcast/video or whatever it is.
It think this case is different than Burnett who has tapes that aren’t already publicly available and won’t release them, and I think that’s wrong. If it were Hillary, so many people (including the Russians) would be breaking into that vault to get them out.
Regardless, does it matter? The people who would walk away from Trump already have over the allegations and his general behaviour. Those who are left supporting him are there because they embrace it or have willful ignorance about the implication of a misogynist prick being head of state. I don’t think this behaviour surprises anyone, but I wish there was more talk about how he would support laws about women in the military, how any female Secret Service could possible work for him when they couldn’t complain about his assaults, all the women in the White House, visiting dignitaries who are at risk in their workplace. The issue isn’t just that he’s gross, its that there are an implication for women around him when he’s in a position of power that he can’t get fired for.
Whilst I appreciate the nuance of HS’s differentiation re: “locker-room talk”, since the release of the Billy Bush tapes it’s become a moot point/excuse anyway… because countless women have come forward to confirm that, on the part of Trump, this was not merely “talk” (locker-room or otherwise) but rather deplorable (alleged) ACTION in which he engages without consent.
So we can parse the ‘excuse’ all we like, when the simple fact of the matter is Trump’s (alleged) ACTIONS stand testament to his disrespect for women going well beyond that of merely in word only.
Totally agree Dippit. It wasn’t just words- Trump was talking about deeds too.
I always thought the same thing. Politics is nasty. They will dog up anything and everything you’ve ever done. What did trump expect?! Greed will make you do crazy things.
Narcissism is a hell of a drug. Although, with the sexual assault, you kinda have to start looking past plain old narcissism. That’s sociopath behavior. It’s all on a spectrum, like anything else. This particular spectrum seems to be based on exactly how horrible you are. Robert Durst, say, is clearly a remorseless psychopath. Donald seems to be a sociopath – lacking human empathy, and blatantly taking advantage of others at every opportunity – but probably hasn’t killed anyone. So.
The Sociopath Next Door is a good read on the subject.
I dated a sociopath and he stole my credit cards, not just mine, but also my dad’s AMEX. Found his Social security number and he and his identical twin spent $75,000. He leaves every town he is in and gets arrested as soon as he returns. I shudder, god I was lonely and bored.
I was talking about this with my husband, I said it seems like guys talk about how hot different women are, or brag about how much a certain woman might want them but yes consent. What Donald said makes it seem like since he’s a star and famous he can do what he wants and women just let him. Which implies they are scared of the consequences of not going along with. I loved Joe Biden’s takedown of Trump. When will this election ever be over??? Not sure how I will feel afterwards towards pro-Trump family members though. Their defense of him really showed their character.
Exactly! I talked to my husband about it, too, and he was like, it’s always guys bragging about how much women want them or throw themselves at the guys (even though all the dudes listening know it’s a bunch of bull). Or how hot someone is but they got shot down, even – that implies that at least they had the guts to approach the woman, which makes them a hero. No one is bragging about how they have to grab and maul women – that makes them look like a loser. No one is in the locker room bragging about being a loser.
The body language in that last photo is very apropos. Melania is blocking Donald, and Beth is leaning as far away from him as she can get.
Totally! And they both have their hands tightly clasped. That speaks volumes about how relaxed and comfortable they feel in his presence.
And Melania’s looking at her husband like, “What are you and why did I marry you?”
I was thinking the same thing about the body language. She’s holding is hands tight so he doesn’t grab Melania’s p****.
I had a friend who worked for Stern too, the few times I met him, he was awesome. So is Beth. We bonded over cats, of course. I was 19 though, so impressionable.
I definitely am not believing most of these men who are portraying themselves as uber PC in the locker room. Anyone who believes that guys don’t talk about women in gross and degrading ways when they are with their boys then they are incredibly naive and sheltered. However, what Trump said was next level and i think a lot less men are THAT terrible, though probably more than we want to believe.
Howard Stern is a creep. I don’t know how some of the women put up with him. I saw Carly Simon on his show and he was practically masturbating while she sang and groaning into his mic – this was probably late 90s so she was still a middle aged professional and accomplished woman. Imagine what he’s like with a 22 year old intern?
Yeah, I don’t believe this uber PC stichk. Especially considering the stories of how some of these rich and famous men treat women.
I’m a little confused though….he did mention it first and reduced Ivana to “a piece of ass” instead of just saying she’s not bad looking. What’s up with that?
I love this bit of irony: On his show he fired someone for locker room talk. It’s cool for a presidential nominee but someone of a reality show in his boardroom? No, that’s unforgivable.
In 2010, professional wrestler and former WWE personality Maria Kanellis was fired by Donald Trump on reality show The Celebrity Apprentice for what he deemed “locker room” talk. Her crime? Kanellis had brought up that fellow contestant, celebrity chef Curtis Stone, had used the women’s dressing room to relieve himself and “left a stench in the room.”
“That’s disgusting. This is my boardroom, it’s not a locker room,” Trump told her on the NBC series
http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-celebrity-apprentice-maria-kanellis-fired-locker-room-509044
OK, but the really important question that needs to be answered: is that Howard’s real hair or a wig? I’m going with wig.
Depends on whether you think he was wearing a wig when he was younger. Male pattern baldness usually starts showing up in the twenties or even sometimes the late teens. If Stern wasn’t showing signs of hair loss when he was forty, it’s probably his real hair now. Also look at his maternal grandfather, since male pattern baldness generally comes through the maternal line. My mother’s father had all his hair til the day he died, and my 70 year old brother still has all of his.
I’d say he definitely colors his hair…
Please, Stern, you are no better than Billy Bush.
He says exactly the same things Billy said on the Trump tape on a regular basis. And he encourages hot women to give men kisses and hugs. That may be his shtick but it’s still a misogenystic frat boy mentality.
This man regularly tossed Bologna slices on women’s butts on the E! channel, and gave away “opportunities” for women to win plastic surgery (for bigger boobs of course).
And I can’t pretend Stern is any better than Trump, or that he’s never heard a guy talk about “pussy grabbing” in the “locker room.” He loves asking celeb guys about all the ass they get, and how women must let them do whatever they want. Stern gets really raunchy himself. I do believe they don’t discuss consent at all tho, which is why these things go unchecked.
Stern’s show was never an attraction for me, but there really is a big difference between doing a show (where the women know what they are getting into and have given consent) and getting treated that way outside of a show when you clearly have not given consent.
Somewhere along the way (maybe around the time he married Beth?) Howard Stern grew up. Trump never did and he never will.
I hated Howard Stern until the day Robin found out she had cancer. And what he did for her, how he spoke of her, how he was there for her made me realize his on-air persona is just that. The real person is much different.
I have listened to Stern off and on since I was 14 years old, and his afternoon drive time show was the only clear station I could get on the beach in New Jersey, where I worked renting beach chairs and umbrellas. His “Dead Celebrity Hollywood Squares” shocked and awed me, and I remember going home and telling my mother about how funny – and WRONG and funny but SO WRONG – it was.
That said, Howard has proven year after year that he’s not the guy on his show. And I believe his point in NOT releasing the tapes is that it’s all public record. It’s all out there. Dig hard enough, and anyone will find it. He didn’t start this BS with the interview tapes; journalists dug it up and created news with it. Howard has been very clear that he doesn’t want to get involved in the politics, and so he’s choosing not to.
If anything demonstrates his true character, it’s how he has become such an open supporter of and participant in his wife, Beth’s, ongoing work with the North Shore Animal League.
I remeber when Stern said this: http://conservativetribune.com/howard-stern-democrats-are-communists/
He said he would never vote for another demorcrat. Also he has supported Republicans and democrats.
It’s not weird at all. If you listened to him you would know it.
I remember Stern throwing bologna at naked women when his radio show was televised on E network. It was along the line of “what would you do for breast implants”.