Easily one of the most successful media personalities of all-time, Howard Stern has become rich and gained famous friends due to his career. That is all the more incredible since Howard has been able to get stars to make stunning admissions. For example, Howard got Donald Trump to talk about his prenup and Matt Lauer to admit his secret celebrity crush. On top of that, Howard has been so controversial that he got beaten up over comments he made, and Dolly Parton threatened to sue him.
Given how scandalous Howard has been, it seems like he wouldn’t care about how people talk about him. Despite that, when Howard was going to star in a reality show, he seemed worried about being called a “scumbag.”
Why Howard Stern Worried Reality Show Fans Would Think He Is A “Scumbag”
Between 2012 and 2015, Howard Stern was one of America’s Got Talent’s judges. The fact that the former shock jock was a part of such a mainstream show for so long without major controversy is still pretty shocking in retrospect.
Looking at Howard’s America’s Got Talent tenure in retrospect, there is another amazing part of his time as one of the reality show’s judges. As it turns out, it appears that Howard was worried about being labeled a “scumbag” when he began judging America’s Got Talent.
Before Howard began judging America’s Got Talent, he spoke to the fans of “The Howard Stern Show” about his role on the show.
America’s Got Talent’s Judges Ranked By Screen Rant | |
|---|---|
America’s Got Talent Judges | Rank |
Brandy Norwood | #12 |
Julianne Hough | #11 |
Gabrielle Union | #10 |
David Hasselhoff | #9 |
Melanie Brown | #8 |
Sharon Osbourne | #7 |
Heidi Klum | #6 |
Piers Morgan | #5 |
Sofia Vergara | #4 |
Howard Stern | #3 |
Howie Mandel | #2 |
Simon Cowell | #1 |
As a December 2011 CBS News article revealed, Howard spoke to his radio show audience about what to expect when he became an America’s Got Talent judge.
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While talking about what he would be like as an America’s Got Talent judge, Howard spoke about how harsh he would be to people auditioning.
When Howard Stern became one of America’s Got Talent’s judges, he was added to replace the departing Piers Morgan. During Howard’s tenure, he worked alongside Nick Cannon, Sharon Osbourne, Howie Mandel, Mel B, and Heidi Klum.
At one point in the conversation, Howard stated that he would even be willing to be harsh when untalented children audition, albeit to the child’s parent. While talking about how harsh he would be to the kid’s parents, Howard asked not to be called a “scumbag.”
“When these very young children come on, I’m going to want to talk to these mothers who march them out there. They gotta be prepared to lose and they gotta be prepared to hear the truth. ‘Don’t call me a scumbag because I’m going to tell your kid he has no talent.'”
During the same segment of “The Howard Stern Show,” Howard explained why he would be willing to be harsh even after a child auditioned. “I take judging very seriously.”
Long before Howard Stern joined the cast of America’s Got Talent, fans were already hearing him judging people. Throughout the history of “The Howard Stern Show,” fans heard Howard judge people who came into his studio to compete for money or honor.
As a result of how much Howard said that he cared about being a good judge, he stated that he would upset people during his America’s Got Talent tenure.
Feelings are going to be hurt.
After making those remarks, Howard went a step further by criticizing the show that he was about to join as a judge.
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While talking about how America’s Got Talent’s judges needed to be harsher about who they let through, Howard name-dropped two of his fellow judges. To be more specific, Howard claimed on “The Howard Stern Show” that Howie Mandel and Sharon Osbourne needed to not let so many people through.
This nonsense between Howie and Sharon putting through less talented people has gotta stop.
Even though Howard had already been pretty harsh about what America’s Got Talent was like before he joined the show, he still wasn’t done. Instead, during the same broadcast of his radio show that CBS News reported on, Howard called out a former America’s Got Talent winner.
“And under my administration there will be no Frank Sinatra impersonators winning for the year.”
For those who don’t know, it seemed like Howard was referring to America’s Got Talent Season 6 winner Landau Eugene Murphy Jr.
Even though Howard Stern didn’t seem to respect Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. winning America’s Got Talent, many observers didn’t feel the same way. For example, when the website Soaps ranked America’s Got Talent’s winners in September 2024, they named Landau as the show’s tenth-best winner.
Landau memorably won the season after he performed a stirring rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”
Some America’s Got Talent Fans Felt That Howard Stern Was Too Nice
Based on how Howard Stern talked about America’s Got Talent before he joined the show, it seemed like he was ready and willing to mix things up. However, when Howard made his debut on America’s Got Talent, that didn’t seem to be the case, at least initially.
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Howard Stern Owes His Massive Fortune To Something Revolting
Howard Stern has become a very wealthy and successful man because of something he did that was truly revolting.
After Howard made his first appearance as an America’s Got Talent judge, an article from The Week called him out.
That article began by pointing out that media watchdog groups were worried about having the former shock jock judging a network television reality competition show. From there, the article suggested that those watchdog groups had nothing to worry about.
The Week’s article cited reviews of Howard’s debut that complained that he’d gone too soft. Those reviews complained about Howard’s so-called “beloved uncle” persona on America’s Got Talent. Furthermore, the complaints pointed to a sticky sweet moment when Howard brought up his late father while judging a father-daughter duo.
Looking back at how Howard felt about his time on the show, it isn’t shocking that his America’s Got Talent tenure wasn’t perfect. After Howard Stern left America’s Got Talent, he revealed how he really felt about working on the reality show. While talking to Us Weekly in May 2019, Howard revealed how uncomfortable he felt when he was working on America’s Got Talent.
“Throughout my career I had put myself in uncomfortable situations… Yet appearing unguarded and undisguised on AGT might have been the most uncomfortable I had ever felt.”
Given how successful Howard has been, it is surprising that he worked on America’s Got Talent for so long since he was so uncomfortable.
Howard Stern
- Birthname
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Howard Allan Stern
- Birthdate
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January 12, 1954
- Birthplace
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Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, New York, USA
- Height
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6′ 5″
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@HowardStern
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@sternshow
- Profession
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Radio Personality
- Net worth
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$650,000,000
- Source of Wealth
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Broadcasting, endorsement deals
- Nationality
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American
