Highlights
- Jerry Seinfeld publicly apologized to Howard Stern for claiming he lacked comedic chops during a podcast interview.
- Seinfeld quickly clarified his comments, expressing remorse and affirming his love and respect for Stern.
- Despite the controversy, Seinfeld and Stern have a history of friendship and socializing.
Howard Stern first became famous for absolutely shocking audiences all over North America. His extremely edgy, sexed-up radio show broke records and revolutionized the industry, resulting in a boatload of money for the host. Stern earned millions of listeners who both loved him and/or were deeply offended by him. In recent years, Stern has evolved into a first-class interviewer. His groundbreaking conversations with President Joe Biden and conversation with Barbra Streisand prove that he's the best in the business. But that's not to say that the satellite radio personality doesn't have legitimate competition in the podcast space. At least, this is the point Jerry Seinfeld recently made.
The acclaimed comedian and sitcom creator publicly apologized for comments he made about what happened to Howard Stern's career. Nobody forced Seinfeld to do this, but he clearly felt he needed to. This article will delve into what Jerry Seinfeld said about Howard Stern and why he apologized for it. Following that, we will dissect their friendship and where they stand today.
What Jerry Seinfeld Said About Howard Stern Not Being Funny And Why He Apologized
Jerry Seinfeld didn't waste any time publicly apologizing to Howard Stern after comments he made during an interview on David Spade and Dana Carvey's "Fly On The Wall" podcast. During the conversation with the Saturday Night Live greats, Seinfeld claimed that they had greater "comedy chops" than the self-proclaimed King Of All Media. Seinfeld was immediately apologetic after the episode airedon Apple Podcasts. But before we can reveal and explain the apology, we have to understand what was said in the first place.
About 10 minutes into their hour-and-a-half-long interview, Seinfeld, Carvey, and Spade discussed the popularity of podcast culture. This caused Seinfeld to ask, "Howard Stern invented this, right?"
While everyone seemingly agreed that podcast culture is due to the success of The Howard Stern Show and how it completely changed talk radio, Seinfeld claimed that they were funnier than Stern. In the interview, Seinfeld said the following:
“But we’re better than [Stern] now. Howard is interesting. Howard is a great interviewer, but comedy chops, I mean, can we speak candidly?”
While David Spade immediately agreed with Seinfeld but stated that Stern also gets "serious". Dana Carvey, on the other hand, objected, saying that Stern's co-host Robin Quivers helps make him funny:
"No! Well, he got Robin, and Robin is a big part of how he’s funny."
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"Yeah, they're all great," Jerry Seinfeld said, referring to Stern and his gaggle of well-paid on-air staffers.
"But, let's face it, he's been outflanked by some very [funny people] -- And yourselves, I would say, this show -- of comedy podcasts, this is the best one on the air."
Jerry Seinfeld went on to wax poetic about the chemistry between David Spade and Dana Carvey on their podcast, not unlike how he's praised Stern's dynamic with Robin Quivers on his show in the past.
As soon as Jerry Seinfeld heard the show he recorded live, he rushed to the press to publicly apologize to his "friend" Howard Stern. Given their relationship, it can be assumed that he also privately apologized. However, Seinfeld is a Stern fan and knows that a public apology would go a long way.
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According to TMZ, Jerry Seinfeld clarified his comments about Howard Stern "lacking comedy chops". As he told TMZ...
"I really feel bad for what I said about my friend Howard Stern in a conversation with David Spade and Dana Carvey, talking about the glut of comedy podcasts. I meant to say he must feel surrounded but I said ‘outflanked’ which sounded terrible and insulting. And of course, none of these little shows are any threat to his giant show. Anyway, it was bad and I’m sorry, Howie. I still love you. Please forgive me."
While Jerry Seinfeld is well aware that The Howard Stern Show remains a huge success despite SiriusXM recently losing subscribers. He also clearly has respect for what Stern has done for the industry, including comedy. But Seinfeld has also spent tons of time with Stern and knows what makes him tick.
As every Howard Stern Show fan knows, if you insult The King Of All Media, you're going to get a whooping on his show. A case in point was Stern's vicious response to Bill Maher after The Real Time host bashed his relationship with his wife, Beth.
At the time of this writing, Howard Stern has not publicly responded to Jerry Seinfeld's comments. His show is off until Monday, May 13th, 2024, when he is likely to address it. Fans of Stern know that he will likely state that he was offended by the comments but accept the apology. Especially because Stern has personal relationships with Jerry Seinfeld, Dana Carvey, and David Spade... all of whom are frequent guests on The Stern Show.
Inside Jerry Seinfeld's Relationship With Howard Stern
Somehow ironically, Jerry Seinfeld was the one who convinced Howard Stern to renew a 5 year contract with SiriusXM back in 2020. Stern told the story about how he and Seinfeld went to lunch and gave him that advice months prior to the record-breaking contract.
According to Page Six, the 5-year contract Stern and his radio show signed is said to be worth around $500 million.
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According to what Howard Stern has said on the air, he and Jerry Seinfeld have hung out socially multiple times. Seinfeld has also been a frequent guest on his radio show for years, even after Stern has had impersonators (such as the late Gilbert Gottfried) mock him on air. Stern has also appeared on Seinfeld's Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee; a show that's reserved for the friends and those Seinfeld greatly respects.
While Howard Stern and Jerry Seinfeld consider each other friends and have been spotted at events with one another, there's no doubt that the comedian's comments will hurt the radio show host. But given their history together, and the fact their wives (Beth and Jessica, respectively) are friends, fans are certain Seinfeld and Stern will mend fences. But Howard Stern Show listeners will have to wait and see until Stern publicly responds to this scandal.
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