Wendy Williams Addresses Feud with Howard Stern, Says Her 'Heart Was So Broken' Amid the Drama
Wendy Williams and Howard Stern have mended their friendship.
Two months after the on-air personalities went head-to-head over Williams’ comments claiming that Stern had lost his edge and was “so Hollywood,” to which he responded by calling her a “jealous bitch,” the pair seem to have called a truce.
Stern, 65, made the first move for a peace offering. Opening up in a May 8 cover story for The Hollywood Reporter, he admitted to regretting his comments made toward the former radio personality turned talk show host.
“That was me at my worst. I thought she was saying that I was a piece of s— and I sucked. But as [I hear it] now, I don’t see it as an offense at all,” he shared with the outlet, adding that he had officially pulled the rant from his archives. “If ‘Hollywood’ means that I’ve evolved in some way and the show has changed, then yeah, she hit the nail on the head.”
Just a few days later, Williams, 54, addressed their feud and Stern’s apology during the “Hot Topics” segment on her syndicated talk show, The Wendy Williams Show.
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While speaking to her audience, Williams revealed that her “heart was so broken” amid their disagreement and said that even without an apology, Stern would remain one of the “most influential people” to have shaped her career.
“By the way, Howard, I read the article with you on the cover of The Hollywood Reporter, and I saw that you mentioned me and that you apologized,” she said on her talk show. “Howard, you know what, if you never apologized to me ever in your life, you would still be one of the most influential people in shaping my career — you and Oprah, that’s it.”
Williams continued, “And the idea that you apologized — he went on the air and ripped me a new one for no damn reason, because I knew I was right — then in this article in Hollywood Reporter, it was a thick article, he goes on to say that he loves me and that I might’ve seen something in him that maybe he didn’t see.”
“And that he’s kind of embarrassed for ripping me on the air, so he’s pulled that from the archives. You’ll never hear that on repeat,” she added. “I love him! And my heart was so broken when he was fighting with me because I wasn’t fighting with him!”
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Though Williams was adamant that she was not fighting with Stern, it’s not likely the radio host could say the same.
Back in March, while discussing Stern’s upcoming book — Howard Stern Comes Again, his first new title in over 20 years — on her talk show, Williams couldn’t help but shade him for what she implied was a toned-down attitude.
“Howard is so Hollywood right now. And Howard, I love you, but since you’ve gone Hollywood, everything you say is so predictable,” she said, explaining that Stern used to be one of her heroes. “Every story is going to be about, ‘Oh, I love this one, and then we went on their yacht.’ He’s a Hollywood insider, which sucks.”
“You started like me, being of the people. But at some point you sat behind the microphone for too long, and now you are the people,” Williams added. “It hurts.”
If Williams thought Stern was being predictable, then she surely must have seen his fury coming.
After hearing her comments, the radio veteran didn’t hold back on his own show — beginning by shooting down Williams’ claim that he had “gone Hollywood.”
“What evidence do you have that I’m Hollywood, honey?” he said. “I grew up a scumbag, and I’m still treated like a scumbag. … What because I found success, now I’m ‘Hollywood?’ What, ’cause I know Jimmy Kimmel? Who am I hanging out with? She doesn’t know who I’m hanging out with. She doesn’t know what I do in this world. She doesn’t know who I’m f—ing with.”
“All she talks on that show is about Hollywood,” Stern alleged. “That’s as Hollywood as you get. If anyone in Hollywood called her to hang out, she’d [be there] in two seconds. All of that is a projection!”
Stern went on to reveal that he thought Williams’ comments didn’t take into account how hard he works. “Here’s my weekend: I go home, I write stuff for this show, I wrote stuff for my book, and then I stare at the wall waiting for the next show,” he said.
“I work my a— off on this show, day in and day out, to make sure that it’s good,” Stern continued. “Just shut up. Keep your opinion to yourself about me. I have struggled my entire life through thick and thin to actually get out there and do something that actually means something to people. That’s such an insult to me.”
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From there, Stern questioned what Williams’ impact in the industry has been.
“What has she said that’s controversial? When has she put herself on the line?” he asked. “What has she done actually? I don’t even know. You’re not the ‘Queen of All Media.’ You haven’t earned that title. You haven’t done anything.”
“You haven’t had the career I’ve had,” Stern said. “I had radio stations firing me, I had the government on my a—. I never backed down from a fight in my life … Such an edgy broadcaster. When did you ever go to war with anyone? When did you fight with the FCC? When did you have the religious right coming up your a— and people throwing you off radio stations and not knowing if you can continue you career? Have you lived my life?”
“Broad doesn’t have an original thought in her goddamn head,” Stern also quipped about Williams. “She’s busy being Howard Stern.”
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Other things Stern said, among his insults, were personal jabs at Williams for her appearance, her health battles (including that headline-making fainting spell) and those reports about Williams’ husband’s infidelity (which she has denied).
“What have I done to this woman? Nothing. I’ve been gracious to her,” Stern said. “Worry about your husband, not me … F— you and your dumb show and your mystery illness. She disappears for two months, nobody knows why, and now she’s questioning me? Thanks honey. …. I never fainted on my show either.”
“I’m not somebody you want to f— with, honey. I don’t want to hear your bulls—. And you’re not a nice person. Nobody likes you, that’s why you can’t go Hollywood,” he continued, claiming, “People do not like her. [The staff] was doing a dance over at The Wendy Williams Show when she was out. She’s a big pain in the a—. I hate to break the news to you, honey. Good thing you hurried back.”
Both Williams and Stern have had long careers in radio. Stern began his career in 1976 and Williams in 1989. She moved over to television in 2008, leaving her syndicated radio show behind the following year.