"Shock-Jock" Howard Stern's Loathing of Leno

Howard Stern, shock-jock of Sirius radio, flailed on Jay Leno in an interview with Harry Smith on The Early Show, Tuesday, Mar. 2. Stern told Smith that he didn't do interviews with the networks but when he was told that the interview included his opinion on Jay Leno, he jumped on the opportunity.

Stern commented that he was "fired up" over the opportunity to talk about Leno. When asked his opinion on the return of Jay Leno to The Tonight Show Stern stated, "Just the mere mention of Jay Leno's name makes me want to vomit". Stern made it very clear that he had no reservations about criticizing Leno even though he thought most people would be hesitant to do so.

Stern did not hold back as he criticized Leno's career in general, everything from what he considers Leno's underhanded actions that pushed Johnny Carson out, getting "fired" from The Tonight Show and whining for NBC to give him another job only to push Conan O'Brien out when his new show flopped. Stern made the statement, "a man would move on to another network and try to beat David Letterman and Conan O'Brien, but Leno stuck around and proceeded to bomb in the 10 p.m. timeslot". Stern also called Leno a "lapdog" for NBC, considering he was not willing to stick to his guns and move on like Letterman, himself and O'Brien. Stern asked Smith, "What would you do (as a man) if you got fired?", making reference to Leno as something less than mature for the way he has handled things. Stern referenced that Leno claimed that he would only return to the 11 PM timeslot if O'Brien did not have a problem with his return yet he did not seem to be bothered that O'Brien was not happy with the arrangement.

Stern also called Leno a "thief", claiming that he stole jokes and punch lines, such as the green card and jay walking schtick, from others like himself and Letterman, without coming up with his own material and that Leno "has no integrity". According to Stern, Leno has "nothing original" as far as material and besides stealing jokes from others, he manipulated the guest list for his earlier timeslot with NBC so that he always got the best guests and Conan O'Brien was left with the lesser known lineup, leaving him at a disadvantage.

Stern has had a long running dislike for Jay Leno. A Google search of Stern vs. Leno will afford you at least 17,800,000 different links that mention not only Tuesday's interview with Harry Smith, but others dating back several years.

Smith asked Stern if there was any possibility of ever returning to regular radio to which Stern responded, "I don't miss free radio at all".

On the subject of the rumors that Stern would possibly be replacing Simon Cowell on American Idol, Stern stated "I wouldn't turn down $100 million in this economy". The American Idol job would not be out of the question for Stern if the money was right.

Howard Stern began his radio career at the campus radio station at Boston University and currently has had his own radio show on Sirius XM (satellite broadcasting service) since Jan. 2006. His battles over censorship have been widely publicized and that is what prompted him to sign on with Sirius.

He has authored two books, Private Parts (1993) and Miss America (1995).