Shock-jock radio host Howard Stern pushed back Thursday against claims that he’s gone “woke” and rumors swirling about his retirement, insisting both are false.
Once known for pushing the boundaries of radio and clashing with the FCC over his raunchy, politically incorrect content, Stern has faced accusations in recent years that he’s lost the irreverent edge that made him famous. Retirement speculation has also circulated repeatedly.
“I was on vacation, and the next thing I know, I’m in ‘Stephen Colbert-land,’ getting thrown off by the FCC or… I don’t know, because I’m too woke? Too woke? I don’t even know what ‘woke’ is. What is woke?” Stern asked.
“If I’m too woke, the world has turned upside down,” he added. “The stuff I talk about—I don’t even know what that means. But if being woke means being awakened, God bless.”
Howard Stern is pushing back against claims that he has gone “woke” amid ongoing rumors of his retirement.
Fellow radio host Andy Cohen suggested that the label “might mean that you care about other people.”
“Yeah,” Stern replied. “Suddenly, it’s not macho to give a damn about anybody. But I’m not being fired—I’m in talks with Sirius about extending my contract, and if that works out, great.”
In fact, Stern has previously embraced being called “woke” amid accusations that his comedy has softened, offering his own perspective on what the term actually means.
On “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, Howard Stern addressed claims that he’s “not good anymore” because he’s become woke.
“I hear that a lot—that I’m not good anymore because I’m woke,” Stern said in September 2023. “By the way, I take that as a compliment. To me, the opposite of woke is asleep. And if woke means I can’t get behind Trump… or that I support people who want to be transgender… or I’m for the vaccine—dude, call me as woke as you want.”
He continued, “I am woke, motherf—er, and I love it. I want to be awake. I want to read legitimate news sources. Here’s how woke I am: I believe the election was not rigged,” referring to the 2020 presidential election. “I am woke. I think that’s a compliment.”
In 2022, Stern faced criticism for seemingly contradicting his long-standing defense of free speech when he appeared to sympathize with efforts against podcaster Joe Rogan, who many say filled the space Stern once dominated with American male audiences.
Stern previously expressed some sympathy for efforts against podcaster Joe Rogan.
In January 2022, Neil Young demanded that Spotify remove his music, declaring the company “can have Rogan or Young. Not both.” Young had criticized Rogan for allegedly spreading false or misleading information about the pandemic.
“I don’t think Neil Young is for censorship,” Stern said at the time. “I just think he’s saying, ‘Look, I don’t want to be part of this organization, because if my music is helping bring people to the table, and then they’re spreading something as lethal as don’t take the vaccine, do this.’”
He added, “I’m against any kind of censorship, really. I don’t like censorship. But when you’re talking about life and death…”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Stern drew controversy multiple times, including arguing that those who refused the vaccine should be denied medical treatment.
“If you don’t get it, in my America, all hospitals would be closed to you. You’re going to go home and die. That is what you should get,” he said.
“Suddenly, it’s not macho to give a damn about anybody, but I’m not being fired—I’m talking to Sirius right now about extending in some way, and if that works out, great,” Stern said.
Stern reportedly spent years mostly holed up in his home, avoiding the studio over fears of contracting COVID-19.
“I’m going crazy with this. My wife yelled at me last night. We got into a fight. You know how paranoid I am about getting COVID. I haven’t gotten it, and I’m pretty safe, and I really don’t want to get it,” he said in September 2023. Though he had started emerging for certain events, news of a new virus strain made him consider retreating back into lockdown.
More recently, shortly after the second attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, Stern expressed agreement with a caller who compared Trump to Adolf Hitler in September 2024. “It is the same playbook. We have seen it before in history.”
“Hitler was perceived as a clown in Germany… He was one of these buffoonish characters. Somehow he won an election. And that was the end of Germany. He dragged them through hell and back,” Stern continued. “This does feel like a replay of pre-World War II. I am one of those people who believe that if the election goes the wrong way, it’s the end of the United States.”
