Howard Stern and His Vile Remarks About Trump Voters
When you think about the insulting remarks that radio personality Howard Stern made last week about Donald Trump’s voters, keep the following facts in mind.
On the day after the Columbine massacre in 1999, Howard Stern said this, on-air:
“There were some really good-looking girls running out with their hands over their heads. Did those kids try to have sex with any of the good-looking girls? They didn’t even do that? They didn’t even do that? At least if you’re going to kill yourself and kill all the kids, why wouldn’t you have some sex? If I was going to kill some people, I’d take them out with sex.”
Around that same time, Dana Plato, who played Kimberly on Different Strokes, appearedon The Howard Stern Show. Stern allowed his callers to say cruel and disgusting things to this very troubled woman, who was not mentally healthy enough to grant any interviews, especially to this show. Plato committed suicide the following day. Many people say it never would have happened had she never appeared on Stern.
In 1999, The Howard Stern Show was not available on any commercial radio stations in my region of the United States. I had no way hear him. The memory of what he said about Columbine should have stopped me from listening to him — ever — but, unfortunately, it did not.
Seven years later, I bought my first satellite radio, not for Stern, but because the music on commercial radio was sorely lacking in variety. Sirius, though, had Blues, Outlaw Country, Jazz, and even an all-Elvis station.
I learned in a college marketing class that commercial radio caters to teenagers only, for advertising reasons. Teenagers spend the most money. Older people spend less. More than any other demographic advertisers want to reach teens.
By then, Stern left commercial radio to join Sirius.
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There, Stern could say the F word as often as he liked. The FCC could no longer keep fining him for every profane thing he ever said or did on the air.
Without meaning to, I found myself sucked into Stern’s show. Stern is actually a talented interviewer. As a print journalist who has to interview lots and lots of different people, I studied him to help me do better at my job.
On top of that, Stern’s on-air colleagues were wildly entertaining. One, a comedian named Richard Christy, prank-called people all over the nation. I laughed so hard when I heard those calls that I thought I would have a heart attack.
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Over the years, I discerned the following:
• As much as Stern loves to portray himself as a rebel, he’s actually more of a whiner.
• Stern is a man who shamelessly exploits mentally ill and mentally challenged people for entertainment purposes. He calls them his Whack Packers. Several of them are now dead and never got a penny from the millions of dollars Stern made taking advantage of them.
• On-air, Stern openly obsesses over graphic pornography (and one wonders how his wife feels about this?). He badgers celebrity guests about their sex lives and how much money they make. I’m no prude, but this is a man who desperately needs a psychiatrist. Apparently he has one, because he talks about his sessions with this person, constantly.
• In 2020, Stern, terrified he would catch COVID-19, became a recluse who broadcast from home. He maligned anyone who wouldn’t get the government’s vaccine. This, even though the FDA hadn’t yet approved it, and many people rightfully worried if it was safe.
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• When Stern was on commercial radio, there were limits to what he could say and do. He couldn’t use R-rated profanity. He couldn’t discuss graphic sexual content. Sometimes, in entertainment, less is more. Since he joined Sirius, almost 20 years ago, he crossed all of those boundaries. There were no more boundaries to cross. With nowhere to go, Stern regressed into a little old lady. Perhaps more accurately, he became a male Karen who demands that everybody else comply with his silly demands.
Even before COVID-19, Stern had worn out his welcome with me and several other now-former listeners.
Perhaps Stern looks back on his despicable remarks about Columbine and regrets them. Perhaps he even regrets capitalizing off handicapped people and other troubled people who didn’t know better.
Stern’s contract is up for renewal with Sirius next year. On top of all of his other misdeeds, Stern just insulted 75 million Trump’s voters.
For Sirius, surely that will translate to lost advertising revenue and fewer subscribers.
It could be that I don’t know what I’m talking about…but my gut tells me that I shouldn’t act surprised if Sirius, after 20 years, opts not to renew Stern’s contract.
Special thanks to Warhammer’s Wife proofreading this story before publication to make certain there were no misspellings, grammatical errors or other embarrassing mistakes and/or typos. Follow Warhammer on Twitter @Real_Warhammer
