Howard Stern tricks fans with fake exit as Andy Cohen ‘takes over’ SiriusXM — Then drops the truth about his future
Howard Stern pranked fans by letting Andy Cohen open his SiriusXM show, pretending to rebrand the channel as “Andy 100.” The stunt briefly fooled major outlets before Stern went on-air to dismiss “bad rumors” about his future.
Listeners tuning in to The Howard Stern Show on Monday were met with an unusual surprise: Bravo host Andy Cohen’s voice instead of Stern’s. Cohen claimed he was taking over the channel, now branded “Andy 100.”
“I know you’re expecting a big announcement from Howard, and this is not how things were meant to go,” Cohen told listeners. “This was supposed to be a cleaner handoff — I’m kind of winging it.”
The prank, staged by Stern, quickly fooled several major outlets, including CNBC, Variety and the Associated Press, which reported that Stern had left SiriusXM.
But about 20 minutes later, Stern appeared on-air, laughing at the confusion and calling out the “bad rumors” about his future.
Stern explains his absence
Stern revealed he had missed last week’s show not because of contract negotiations, but because he had fallen ill.
“I’m going to have to fill everyone in,” Stern said. “I was just getting so fucking annoyed with everyone writing me, asking me if I was okay because I’d been fired.”
Talks with SiriusXM continue
Stern confirmed that discussions with SiriusXM about a new contract are ongoing, but he emphasised his satisfaction with the network.
“SiriusXM and my team have been talking about how we go forward in the future, they’ve approached me. They’ve sat down with me like they normally do and they’re fantastic,” Stern said. “We’ve been talking.”
Despite rumors of other suitors, Stern added he is “very happy at Sirius.”
Addressing false headlines
The host also mocked recent headlines that speculated on his jealousy of Cohen or anger over podcaster Alex Cooper joining the platform.
“I don’t know Alex Cooper,” Stern said. “And if she is young and bubbly, God bless her because I’m the opposite.”
He also dismissed claims that SiriusXM had dropped him for being “too woke.”
“None of this is going on. None of it is true. Zero truth,” Stern said.
‘Now I can’t leave’
After months of speculation about his retirement, Stern admitted the rumors have ironically tied him down.
“What pisses me off is now I can’t leave,” Stern quipped. “I’ve been thinking about retiring, now I can’t.”
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