Howard Stern's horrible boss claims from 'humiliated' staffers resurface amid new lawsuit from fired ex-employee

Howard Stern and wife Beth have found themselves in new litigation claiming the radio host and spouse presided over a hostile work environment, prompting a reexamination of past company controversies involving the King of All Media.

Plaintiff Leslie Kuhn, a one-time live-in executive assistant for the A-list star, 72, and his wife Beth, 52, claims in court docs reviewed by the Daily Mail that the celebrity couple presided over a toxic workplace in the years she worked for them.

Beth Stern ran an 'irresponsible and untenable' animal rescue nonprofit that put 'immense pressures on the household,' Kuhn claimed in the court filing. 

The situation imploded earlier this year when Kuhn said in legal docs filed in New York that the pair manufactured her termination - and made her agree to sign 'fraudulent and unenforceable' confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements. 

Kuhn told the court that clauses were put in place to conceal the couple's 'massively disorganized and questionable business operations.'

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Stern for further comment on the story. 

Longtime Stern radio rival Gregg 'Opie' Hughes told Daily Mail in a statement about the lawsuit (from his Opie Radio podcast Tuesday), 'It sounds like that Southampton mansion of his on the ocean is just filled with cats! Oh my God, can you imagine?

'I don't care how big the place is, you gotta imagine there's a lot of cats wandering around that place ... the cat guy, Howard Stern, the tough shock jock - he's in hell dude!'

He said of Kuhn, 'This woman has a lot to say, but she can't say s*** because of this weird NDA she signed - but she wants the world to know what she saw in the Stern house!'

The Daily Mail is looking back at other past incidents in which a common narrative from former staffers emerged, in which they said they felt humiliated, coerced, or underpaid while in Stern's employ.

Longtime listeners of Stern's radio show recall that calamities such as natural disasters and terrorist attacks haven't spared the shock jock's staffers of awkward on-air confrontations later described by fans as radio gold.

A memorable instance of such came on the October 29, 2012 edition of his radio show, with Hurricane Sandy about to do unprecedented damage to the East Coast.

With the storm in the wings, Stern - who maintained a residence in Manhattan at the time - grilled his staff if he could count on them, asking them why they would not abandon their Tri-State Area homes to stay at a hotel in the city SiriusXM was providing. 

This led to a heated argument between Stern and his longtime producer Gary Dell'Abate, who said he was prioritizing the well-being of his family by heading back to his Connecticut home amid the horror weather conditions. 

'Why would you go back home if we're doing a show tomorrow?' Stern asked his producer, as on-air personalities Robin Quivers and Shuli Egar egged on the prodding.

After Stern told his longtime underling he felt he couldn't count on him and that he was abandoning ship, Dell'Abate eventually countered back, 'What are you guys, f***ng crazy?

'So if a tree falls on my house I'll just figure it out when I get home?' Dell'Abate said. 'There's no sensitivity to someone's family or home!'

Amid Stern's continued prodding, Dell'Abate said, 'You want to make it sound like I don’t care about my job. I’m going to go on record, because I want to be straight: I care more about my wife and kids than I do about this job - but it’s a close race.'

In a subsequent HowardTV special documenting how the show persevered through the storm, Stern laughed off jabs that he had been unreasonable with his employees amid the unprecedented weather event. 

'I got more hate mail, my fans turned on me, "You don't care about your staff, you're not nice to the people that work with you" - they all probably stayed home too!' Stern said. 

Stern, in a credit to his work ethic, remained on the air amid the duration of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on his native New York City, delivering a broadcast many have described as the finest of his career.

While Stern encouraged anyone who felt uncomfortable to leave the New York City high-rise building the then-terrestrial show emanated from, former staffer KC Armstrong was mercilessly ridiculed for actually doing so.

Upon his return to the studio later that week, Stern and his staff chastised Armstrong for leaving when everyone else remained working in the studio.

'We stayed here and did our jobs, what did you do - you left your job!' Stern said.

Stern also mocked Armstrong for suggesting he wanted to go to 'a lower floor' amidst the unprecedented attacks; and suggested he wear a dress to work after revealing his cowardice by leaving.

In the years since, Stern appears to have changed his mind on the issue, as he has predominantly broadcast from home since 2020 due to what he claims are Covid concerns.

Another uncomfortable workplace issue often referenced by former Stern staffers revolve around finances, as many of the show alums have publicly bemoaned paychecks they said were light, while Stern was taking in millions.

'It was frightening what was going on,' former head writer Jackie Martling, 78, told Vice TV in 2023 on Dark Side of the 2000s Shock Jocks. 'There was so much money coming in. It was crazy the amount of money.'

Martling had penned punchlines for Stern on the radio show beginning in 1983 - through the show's meteoric rise in pop culture - until leaving over a salary dispute in February 2001.

Martling said that most of the employees of the lucrative radio show 'weren't getting paid well' while Stern was 'making countless millions of dollars.'

The comedian said he remained perplexed by Stern's decision to jettison him from the show 25 years back after he held out for a raise.

'You are beyond rich and successful, and you have someone sitting next to you who makes you enjoy that job much more - and you let them go? Because he asked for more money? It boggles the mind.'

'Stuttering' John Melendez was a staple of the show from 1988 until leaving in 2004.

Melendez, 60, said on the Vice broadcast that he was taken aback by Stern's hostility when he took an announcing job on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno that raised his annual pay from around $75,000 (with Stern) to the $400,000 range.

'He couldn't let me evolve and be happy,' Melendez said. The Daily Mail has reached out to Melendez and Martling for further comment. 

The Howard Stern Show airs on SiriusXM.