Howard Stern Clarifies There’s ‘Zero Truth’ to Him Leaving SiriusXM

Howard Stern is not leaving SiriusXM — at least, not yet.

The veteran shock jock, 71, set the record straight on Monday, Sept. 8, after Andy Cohen introduced The Howard Stern Show earlier by himself and said, “This is our first day broadcasting on Andy 100.”

“I know you’re expecting a big announcement from Howard and this is actually not how things were meant to go,” continued Cohen, 57, noting that there was been “a lot of talk about what’s gonna happen with Howard,” including whether he’d been “fired.”

“I don’t know how much I’m allowed to say except that he’s not here and I am,” Cohen added.

About 10 minutes later, Stern jumped on alongside his longtime cohost Robin Quivers and revealed that the Cohen bit was a hoax, saying, “Everything you’ve been reading in the paper about me or about Robin is completely false.”

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According to the Associated Press, Stern thanked Cohen for agreeing to the prank and also addressed rumors that have swirled about him potentially leaving SiriusXM after nearly 20 years.

“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,” said Stern during his segment, per The Hollywood Reporter.

On Aug. 5, several outlets reported that The Howard Stern Show was getting canceled. But on Monday, Stern said there was “zero truth” to rumors that he was fired over being “too woke,” according to THR, as well as no animosity from his end in terms of airtime and representation of both Cohen, who has two channels on SiriusXM, and podcaster Alex Cooper. (In 2024, Cooper signed a $125 million three-year deal with SiriusXM.)

Stern added on his show that he doesn’t actually know Call Her Daddy star Cooper, 31, but “if she is young and bubbly, God bless her because I’m the opposite,” per the outlet.

“What pisses me off is now I can’t leave,” Stern said on his show Monday, perTHR. “I’ve been thinking about retiring, now I can’t.”

Several individuals expressed their concerns over the prank in comments on an Instagram video of Cohen’s introduction, with Bob Harper writing once the air was cleared, “OMG!!! I was freaking out!!! Thank God I’m hearing Howard and Robin!!!!”

Stern’s wife Beth Stern even chimed in, leaving a single laughing-face emoji in the comments.

Stern began his career as a radio host in the 1980s, making his debut on Sirius Satellite Radio (now SiriusXM) in 2006. Over the years, he has amassed a massive fan base, was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2012 and made Forbes‘ 2022 list of the highest-paid entertainers.

In October 2024, SiriusXM president and chief content officer Scott Greenstein told The Hollywood Reporter that he had not heard from Stern about wanting to leave.

“He’s been with me and the company going on two decades, and so he’s pretty happy, but he’s also able, like many great artists, to stop whenever he wants,” he said. “Nobody will ever replace them. We would never try to replace them. It’s not what is even appropriate, but even practical.”

If Stern were to retire, SiriusXM would continue to own his library of content for several years. As Greenstein told The Hollywood Reporter, SiriusXM would “always have Howard’s voice on our air.”