Howard Stern Fans Voted On The Worst Things He Has Ever Done

During Howard Stern’s incredible career, he has become extremely rich, made famous friends, and even had a celebrity as a sidekick. All of that has allowed Howard to become credible enough to interview Donald Trump about his prenup and talk to Matt Lauer to admit his secret crush. However, Howard is a former shock jock who got beaten up for his comments, had Dolly Parton threaten to sue him, and even had a star hold a grudge against him for years.

When Howard was that shock jock, he did incredibly repulsive things on the radio. Years later, after the perception of Howard had largely changed, some of his fans voted on what the worst thing he had ever done was.

Howard Stern’s Treatment Of Dana Plato Was The Worst Thing He Ever Did

As of 2025, Howard Stern is treated as the widely respected radio show host he has been for many years now. That is a valid way to see Howard today because he has conducted himself as a pretty mainstream figure for many years now. However, that is still ignoring Howard’s past conduct.

After spending many years of his career as the biggest shock jock in radio, Howard has done many offensive things in public. Since he has done such extreme things, it can be hard to decide what the worst thing Howard has ever done was.

In August 2023, fans on the r/howardstern subreddit voted on what the worst thing Howard had done was. Based on that vote, the way Howard treated Dana Plato just before her passing was the worst thing he ever did.

As a May 1999 The Washington Post article shows, Dana Plato passed away far too early in life when she was only 34 years old.

Dana Plato rose to fame as a former child star during the late-’70s. From 1978 until 1986, millions of fans watched Dana as she starred in the hit sitcom Diff’rent Strokes.

At the time of her passing, Dana had several substances in her system that had lethal interactions. It was a truly tragic turn of events for the former child star who’d notably been struggling with addiction issues.

The day before her life sadly ended, Dana had an interaction with Howard that fans now consider the worst thing he ever did.

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The day before Dana passed away, she appeared on “The Howard Stern Show” and insisted that she was sober. Howard didn’t believe her claim and neither did several callers who called the former actor out.

Howard Stern’s Origin, According to Famous Birthdays
Where Was Howard Stern Born?	New York City, New York
When Was Howard Stern Born?	January 12th, 1954
How Old Is Howard Stern As Of January 2025?	71 Years Old

In response, Dana offered to submit to a drug test and Howard’s producer took some of her hair to be tested. After Dana passed away, Howard told The New York Post that she tried to get her hair back.

“She said, ‘I want my hair back.’ That’s when I knew she was lying. That’s when I knew she must have been on drugs… She gave us the hair – then she said, ‘No, I want it back.’ And Gary wouldn’t give it back and it was a whole big mess. We still have her hair. Obviously, we don’t have to test it now.”

Some people believe that Dana’s humiliating appearance on “The Howard Stern Show” may have played a role in her passing.

Howard Stern looking surprised — Via: Instar

The aforementioned The New York Post article that included Howard’s remarks also quoted Betty Bridges.

As a January 2020 High Times article reveals, Howard Stern has stated that he hasn’t personally used illicit substances in many years. Despite that, the article states that Howard has long supported the legalization of cannabis.

Betty was the mother of Dana’s former Diff’rent Strokes co-star, Todd Bridges.

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Betty spoke about her belief that Dana was affected by her appearance on “The Howard Stern Show.”

“After going on his show maybe she thought, ‘I need to take a Valium to calm me down because people think I’m on drugs.’ If you’re not taking drugs and they’re saying you are, then you’re tripping out. She’s very sensitive.”

Of course, nobody can know what was going on in Dana’s mind after her appearance on Howard’s show. On top of that, Dana had a documented history of addiction issues. As a result, it seems like a huge stretch for anyone to try to definitively link the radio show to Dana’s passing. Still, many fans are still repulsed by how Howard treated Dana decades after the fact.

Howard Stern’s Fans Called Out Other Awful Things He Has Done

As a part of the aforementioned subreddit post about the worst things Howard Stern has ever done, the radio host’s fans voted for other options. It is hard to overstate how repulsive some of those things that fans voted for are.

Howard Stern style on his his siriusxm radio show — Via: Instar

One of the options that received the most votes revolved around how Howard reacted after a horrific event. As a May 2012 ABC News article about the worst things Howard has done details, Howard reacted to the violence at Columbine in a disgusting way.

Instead of solely expressing sadness for the victims of that mass violence incident that caused many deaths, Howard spoke about the situation in a shocking way. Howard called some of the people who ran from the perpetrators of that incident “really good-looking girls.” Howard then questioned if the perpetrators tried to be intimate with the people who ran in fear from them.

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Another incident that got many votes on the subreddit related to a long-time rival of Howard’s, the radio host known as Mancow. Known as a shock jock himself, Mancow doesn’t offend easily.

Despite that, Mancow was so disgusted by how Howard once treated his family that he called him “evil.”

A July 2023 article from The New York Post detailed how Howard reacted when Mancow’s father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. According to that article, when Mancow’s father passed away from terminal cancer, Howard told his listeners to go to the funeral.

Furthermore, that article revealed that Mancow stated during an episode of docuseries Dark Side of the 2000s that Howard stated that he planned to “dig up his [father’s] corpse.”

Other incidents that fans voted for on the subreddit post were also truly brutal. For example, the time when Howard mocked the singer Selena after she was killed when she was only 23 years old. Another option that got votes was Howard mocking Anna Nicole Smith for her weight. Truly, Howard absolutely deserved to be called a shock jock in the past.