Highlights
- Howard Stern caused a stir by ranking “hottest” female celebs, causing drama among his staff and fans.
- The staff criticized fellow staffer J.D. Harmeyer for diverse choices, including Oprah.
- Stern has been criticized for misogynistic segments in the past.
Howard Stern caused an uproar on his SiriusXM radio show on April 9th, 2024 when he went back to the roots of what made him famous in the first place. During a lengthy segment on The Howard Stern Show, the former shock jock had one of his well-paid staffers, JD Harmeyer, rank the “hottest female celebrities” in the U.S., including actors, news anchors, major sports figures, models, and music legends.
While Stern has mostly evolved from his most controversial days, the segment did harken back to some of Trump’s women rating bits on the show as well as the bits that some of the political far-left have called “disgusting”. While the April 9th, 2024 segment was done from Harmeyer’s point-of-view, it caused insane drama among The Stern Show’s staff, and fans, and even dragged in the host of the show. This article will delve into what went down in the women-ranking bit, who JD thinks is the “hottest” star in America, and then touch upon some of Stern’s past bits that were called misogynistic.
Howard Stern And His Staff Ranked The “Hottest” Celebrities
Howard Stern has come a long way from his edgiest radio bits. Over the past two decades, he’s become best-known for his in-depth and hard-hitting celebrity interviews, such as the bombshell conversation he had with Barbra Streisand. But that doesn’t mean he’s above a full-on, politically incorrect bit now and again. On April 9th, 2024, this came in the form of segment producer and the show’s resident “mumbler”, JD Harmeyer, ranking the “hottest” women in show business. The result of this caused Stern and his staff to make fun of Harmeyer, who, in their opinion, had “no right” to judge other people’s appearances due to his own. It also caused massive disagreements amongst the fans and even angered some audience members.
According to Howard Stern, JD Harmeyer pitched him the segment because he “constantly thinks about women”. Stern ‘Oked’ the bit and Harmeyer then provided him, his co-host Robin Quivers, and the Stern Show staff a bracket of 32 women, including from music, sports, news, modeling, and Hollywood.
As Stern said…
“The goal here will be to find out who JD’s hottest woman in the country is.”
Harmeyer provided Stern and his staffers photos of his top 32 women and then ranked them against each other to get down to 16, 7, and then the final. While Harmeyer went through his list, multiple staffers criticized him for being too diverse in his selection. Additionally, Stern Show writer and impressionist, Samantha Fontana, pretended to be a dead Joan Rivers judging JD Harmeyer’s looks while he picked between the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Florence Pugh, Hailee Steinfeld, Nia Long, Sabrina Carpenter, and Taylor Swift.
“Taylor Swift beats Sabrina Carpenter,” Harmeyer said.
“Normally, Sabrina Carpenter is like a shorter woman, which I like, but the Taylor Swift — that picture right there — from the beach [with boyfriend Travis Kelce], that moves her [ahead].”
“Oh my god,” Stern Show co-host Robin Quivers said. “JD didn’t even show her face in the picture. Just her a***.”
Stern himself had to recuse himself from judging the women, particularly when it came to Gravie Abrams due to being friends with her father, J.J. Abrams. Other women that showed up on Harmeyer’s list were Beyonce, podcaster Alex Bennett, MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle, and TikTok star Brianna Chickenfry. But it was Oprah Winfrey’s inclusion that caused a major stir.
“Oprah!?” Stern asked.
“Yes!” Harmeyer responded.
“Look, it’s JD’s bracket,” Quivers said. “This is the Ozempic Oprah.”
“You’re saying Oprah is one of the top 40 most beautiful women in the world? …This is the most bizarre list, to me.”
Various Stern Show staffers, including Ronnie Mund, criticized Harmeyer for including women who were old enough to be his mother and cited that he had “mommy issues”.
“He’s a kinky guy,” Quivers laughed.
“Dude, you’re out of your f***ing mind, I’m sorry,” Mund said to Harmeyer. “You are f***ed up!”
“Number 7, model Kylie Jenner goes against number 10C, Kyle Richards.”
“Kyle Richards!?” Quivers yelled.
“Who won that?” Stern asked.
“Kyle Richards can do the splits, she wins [against Kylie Jenner],” Harmeyer said.
“This is the worst list!”
“Now, I object!” Quivers said.
“Throw him the f*** out.” Mund added. “There’s something wrong with him.”
“Kyle Richards she’s an older woman,” Stern said.
“She’s still hot,” Harmeyer objected.
From there, Harmeyer narrowed his bracket down to Camila Morrone, Sydney Sweeney, Nia Long Lindsay Pelas, Dua Lipa, Alexandra Daddario, Megan The Stallion, Emily Ratajkowski, and Oprah, among others.
“Oprah Winfrey’s 70. What are you doing?” producer Gary Dell’Abate asked Harmeyer.
“There’s a revolution in the back office, Howard.”
“I’m sorry I’m not an ageist,” Harmeyer objected before ranking Alexandra Daddario over Nia Long, Jennifer Lawrence over Blake Lively, Dominique Fishback over Vanessa Hudgens, Dua Lipa over Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez over Kacey Musgraves, Megan Thee Stallion over Jennifer Lopez, Livvy Dunne over Stephanie Ruhle, Maren Morris over Beyonce, and Sydney Sweeney over Jennifer Aniston.
As he did, Stern went to the phones to ask whether his audience was into the ranking. The resounding response was both a critique of Harmeyer’s choice and how boring the segment was.
Finally, Harmeyer ruled out his top picks of Oprah Winfrey, Sydney Sweeney, Emily Ratajkowski, Lindsey Pelas, Selena Gomez, Megan Thee Stallion, and Alexandra Daddario, and settled on Dua Lipa as who he thought was the best-looking woman in the entertainment.
“Dua Lipa is the hottest female celebrity today.”
“I think everyone, including me, should be fired,” Howard Stern said of the controversial segment.
Stern joked about regretting doing the bit, but mostly because Harmeyer dragged it out far longer than it needed to be. The reaction from the callers and from the other staffers were clearly in agreement.
Howard Stern Has Been Accused Of Being “Misogynistic”
Most Howard Stern fans know that the accusations of sexism and misogyny leveled against the radio host in the past have been from those who’ve never even heard the show. This includes singer Linda Rondstadt, who even got into a televised argument with Robin Quivers about it. Still, there are a number of bits that Stern wouldn’t do anymore. This includes a ton of segments with adult stars, the sybian, or even engaging in the line of questioning about sex and looks during his celebrity interviews.
Stern’s creative and personal evolution over the past two decades has been criticized by many members of his old-school fanbase, according to The New York Times. However, it has kept him from being canceled as well as helped him maintain his immense success.
Source: NewsFinale
