Howard Stern Gets in Another Dig at Leno
On "Late Show," Stern praises host David Letterman and attacks Jay Leno.
June 9, 2009— -- Howard Stern has never made a secret of his dislike of Jay Leno.
But in his Monday appearance on the "Late Show with David Letterman," Stern let his loathing rip. A long-time Letterman loyalist, Stern lavished praised on the "Late Show" host and went on the attack against Leno, the former host of the "The Tonight Show."
"I never liked Jay. I can't stand Jay," Stern said. "I've never seen anybody who behaves like a robot like this guy. I watched his final show, saying goodbye to the 'Tonight Show,' reading it off a teleprompter for crying out loud. Where's the emotion? Where's the humanity?"
Pointing at Letterman, Stern then shouted, "Here's the host that we want to watch."
The audience cheered, the band played and Stern danced a little jig. Letterman, who smiled throughout Stern's tirade, sat back in his chair as if to take in the praise, then said, "Thank you, Howard."
In previous visits to Letterman's show, the host has appeared slightly uncomfortable during Stern's attacks on Leno. Not last night. Stern was only on the set a couple minutes before he addressed the recent shuffle in late-night television.
"This Conan O'Brien took over the Leno show. You heard about this?" Stern asked to laughter. "We got to beat this Conan. For God's sake, how are you feeling? Jay left late night television and now you've got this new guy to compete with?"
Rather than answer, Letterman changed the subject. But Stern brought it back around.
"I've got to say something about loyalty. Dave put me on national television many, many years ago before I was known, and I have stuck with Dave," said Stern, whose first "Late Show" appearance in 1984 helped launch the original shock jock and his radio show into the national spotlight.
Even during friendlier times, when Stern appeared on Leno's show, the two never saw completely eye-to-eye. Stern told Letterman on Monday night about one of his appearance on "The Tonight Show."
"I bring on two lesbians -- I'm Howard Stern, I bring out two lesbians -- he's shocked," Stern recalled. "He walks off his own show. I knew it wouldn't last."
