Report: Howard Stern Show Insiders are Calling His Cancellation 'a Desperate Hoax' to Make Him 'Relevant Again' and Begin 'His Next Chapter'

Until this post appeared on its official page, the news out of The Howard Stern Show has been negligible since it the reports SiriusXM was going to let the show die on the vine. The most bombastic, outspoken, controversy-seeking figure in the history of entertainment, the self-annointed King of All Media, has said nothing. Even when he scrambled to record "an emergency show" the next day, he just interviewed Lars Ulrich of Metallica and never approached the subject. He just cryptically said he'd be back with a new show on September 2nd, and signed off like it was just another one of his interminable breaks. As if he wasn't in the eye of the biggest Category 5 media storm in years. 

Since then, all we've gotten are rumors. Unsubstantiated reports that he found out about his contract being allowed to lapse from a news alert, just like the rest of us. And another that claimed he's "re-energized" and planning to keep proving he's the best interviewer in the business. Which is about 0.01% of what we would've heard out of Stern back in his prime if one of his sworn enemies like Don Imus or Opie & Anthony was getting shitcanned. He would've dined out on another, rival show's demise for weeks. Hell, any time the FCC or some religious group took shots at him, he ran straight into the bullets and it made for incredible radio. But now? The 2025 version of Stern has been Sherlock Holmes' "the dog that didn't bark." And remains so.

But out of the blue we're hearing from "insiders" who claim his cancellation is, in fact, not a cancellation at all. But rather, an elaborate publicity stunt designed to put him back in the center of the culture wars where he reigned supreme for decades:

Daily Mail (paywall) - Now insiders have claimed the entire 'quitting' scenario was orchestrated from within the Howard Stern Show.

One inside put it bluntly that the 'show being cancelled' narrative was a 'desperate hoax' to drum up publicity and 'try and make Stern relevant again' amid declining popularity and relevance.

They're desperately trying to make this thing to go viral to try to boost his numbers for his return on September 2', the insider claimed.

'His numbers are down so low that they're desperately trying to make him relevant and get people to tune in to see what he's going to say about getting "fired" from Sirius.

It was something they came up with on a viral scale to get people to tune in again. The numbers are so pathetic that they don't know what to do.'

The insider added that Stern had 'sold out his own audience so bad' by mocking Trump voters and telling them he 'didn't want them listening to his show anymore' that he was prompted to take radical steps to win them back.

'From what I understand, this (the September 2 launch) is sort of going to be like a mea culpa to get the audience that he alienated back to listening to him', the insider said, adding Stern would attempt a dramatic reinvention 'into something he used to be.'

'Stern could've retired 10 years ago. He's not planning on retiring any time soon.'

A second insider said a defiant Stern is determined to give his naysayers a 'rude awakening' when he confirms his new contract with SiriusXM next month.

'Howard anticipates to have a new contract with Sirius and to announce that upon his return to the airwaves on September 2' they said.

An insider close to Howard Stern has dismissed speculation about his future, insisting 'all the rumors will be addressed' and warning critics of a 'rude awakening.'

They added that what some see as his downfall is in fact 'the beginning of his next chapter,' with details set to be revealed in the coming days.

Let's acknowledge these "insider" reports are all over the map. One is positively trashing him, painting him as desperately and pathetically trying to recapture his lost relevance with this hoax after alienating most of his audience.

Another is talking like this was all part of a master plan. Like Stern laid a trap for his critics to walk into, and he's going to go scorched earth on them, once he takes a break. The way he has a thousand times before

Who can say which version is true? But if a lifetime spent paying attention to how the world works has taught me anything, it's that neither is the truth. And neither is entirely wrong. People see things through their own biases and spin them accordingly. My best guess is that Stern does want to keep doing what he sees himself as being great at, which is getting celebrities to say interesting things. That he's embarrassed by his past of gleaning comedy out of throwing baloney at women's asses and running Miss Butterface pageants:

"… loves company." 

And he wants to spend his golden years having friendly conversations with Rosie O'Donnell, whom he used to be merciless to. But SiriusXM stopped seeing profits once he went all in on hating that half of the country who support an old friend of his:

James Devaney. Getty Images.

… and they're not willing to pay him what he was expecting. 

So it's either accept being kicked to the curb by the industry he revolutionized, or rebrand himself completely as a sort of elder statesman. An Interviewer Emeritus. That way he saves face, and still stays in the good graces of the people who invite him to their lawn parties in the Hamptons. 

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Stern finally found a Culture War he could not win:

But he's not ready to go quietly into the night. 

Anyway, that's my best guess. We'll know for sure in about two weeks. But to me the truest thing in this whole report was the part where one of those insiders said he should've retired 10 years ago.