What you need to know
Howard Stern is clarifying the situation between himself and Oprah Winfrey.
The 71-year-old shock jock revealed during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy on Friday, October 10, that he still misses Winfrey, 71, despite her past criticism.
During a conversation with Andy Cohen, the host asked Stern about the “enemies” or “punching bags” he has since mended fences with in the years since, specifically asking if Winfrey was “yet” on his list of enemies. “No, I love Oprah,” Stern said.
“I follow Oprah and I enjoy watching her,” he added.
When Mr. Cohen, 57, asked if he had “talked to her,” Mr. Stern clarified: “Never.” “I know Gayle King very well, and I think at some point she suggested, ‘Oh, let’s go out with Oprah,'” Stern recalled. “I said, ‘You better check with Oprah. You better not surprise her with me.'”
“No, I’m fascinated by Oprah,” he added. “I like that sometimes Oprah is so oblivious. Maybe she’s aware, but I think… sometimes she’s not aware of how she presents her wealth. I couldn’t do that. I’m not saying she’s wrong. We all know she’s wealthy. But I think in the world today, there’s a huge disparity between people who have money and people who don’t.”
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Stern said he thought it was “funny” and unapologetically called Winfrey “rich,” adding that it was “a good thing for her.”
“I don’t hate Oprah at all. I think she’s great,” Stern declared.
Elsewhere in the episode, he told Cohen that he would “sit down and talk to Oprah.” “Oprah didn’t want to sit down with me,” he claimed. “I think Oprah feels that way, you know…Oprah doesn’t need that. I’m going to advise her to stay away from me.”
PEOPLE has reached out to Winfrey’s representatives for comment.
According to Variety, Stern has previously criticized Oprah’s use of social media, claiming that “following her on Instagram is mind-blowing” and that she is “not at all embarrassed by her wealth.” His comments were made during a November 2022 episode of The Howard Stern Show.
“I see her mansion, the gardens, the people who serve her. And, you know… she has servants, she has people who cook, and it’s very wild. She knows how to get rich… she likes to show it off, which is something I’m not comfortable with,” he claimed. “I don’t think people should flaunt their wealth.”
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“There are people out there who are struggling,” Stern said after co-host Robin Quivers claimed Winfrey was “not showing off.”
“We’ve got to think about people who don’t have food, you know what I’m saying? I mean, look, we’ve got to be a little bit cognizant of this,” Stern added. “I live a good life, but I have a hard time watching Oprah. I go, wow. See what’s going on over there? Her wealth is incredible. When she goes shopping, she shops in the backyard, because everything is growing there. There’s a farm over there.”
Stern later praised Winfrey’s philanthropy elsewhere in the episode.
