After weeks of speculation, it’s official: Howard Stern is staying with SiriusXM. However, he utilized colleague Andy Cohen to fake out his audience briefly on Monday morning.
Stern had initially shared that he would address the rumors of his impending exit on Tuesday, September 2nd. When the day came, it was revealed that the announcement would be pushed back to this week.
To begin Monday’s show, Cohen was the first voice on the air, sounding flustered as he made the announcement that Stern had left the satellite broadcaster after 20 years.
“I know you’re expecting a big announcement from Howard, and this is not how things were meant to go,” Cohen said. “This was supposed to be a cleaner handoff. I’m kind of winging it,” adding that it was a “surreal morning.”
“I can’t overstate what Howard has meant to this company and what he did for SiriusXM. He walked so that we could run. I can’t possibly fill his void,” Cohen continued.
Later, though, Stern hopped on the air to share that it was an elaborate joke, and that he indeed was staying with the satellite radio company.
The 71-year-old admitted he had considered retiring and had “totally shut down” this summer to take time off and contemplate his future. He added that after the reaction to some that he had been “fired” or his show was “canceled” because he had become “woke,” the motivation to continue the program became overwhelming.
However, Howard Stern continued by stating that he is “very happy at Sirius” and that he was forced to postpone his announcement about his future after becoming “very sick” last week.
Stern did not share financial details or the length of his contract extension with SiriusXM when he announced he was staying with the satellite radio brand on Monday morning.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
