Videos of Howard Stern wearing blackface have resurfaced, causing a stir on social media as people have called out the radio host as “racist and dumb.”
Of the controversy, the 66-year-old said on Monday on his SiriusXM morning show: “I own it.”
“There’s nothing new here, we all know I was the craziest motherfucker on radio,” said Stern. “So crazy I might have been insane.”
Last week and over the weekend, several people shared clips of various instances when Stern wore blackface, prompting the shock jock to respond.
In one video, Stern is seen recreating the infamous blackface appearance by actor Ted Danson in 1993 at a celebrity roast for then-girlfriend Whoopi Goldberg. Stern, mocked that moment opposite actor Sherman Hemsley (as Goldberg) and Robin Quivers. Stern recreated the scene for his pay-per-view show, “New Year’s Rotten Eve Pageant,” that same year.
The clip of Stern in blackface that made its way to Twitter was cut alongside a recent appearance he made on “The View,” where co-host Sunny Hostin called him out on using the n-word. After Stern claims he’s never used it, the clip goes back to his ’93 sketch when he says the word several times.
While Stern appears to be mocking Danson’s use of blackface, the problematic clip made the rounds on Twitter and was even retweeted by Donald Trump Jr.
Others also remarked on the clip and found another instance of Stern in blackface:
Stern, who has often spoken out against President Donald Trump, also questioned on his Monday show whether the president and his eldest son, Trump Jr., were behind the videos making the rounds.
“They actually ‘uncovered’ things that aired on TV 30 years ago,” said Stern, to which Quivers responded that she had “completely forgotten about” the sketch.
Stern and Quivers went on to talk about the changes his broadcast has gone through over the years, and that a lot of things he’s done in the past made him “cringe.” Of the blackface Danson and Goldberg sketch, he acknowledged that he “wouldn’t” do it now.
“Would I go about it the same way now? Probably not,” he said, adding: “Not probably — wouldn’t.”