Howard and Beth Stern Hit With Lawsuit From Personal Assistant Alleging Hostile Workplace
Howard Stern and wife Beth face a lawsuit from former staffer Leslie Kuhn, who alleges they created a hostile workplace after she was hired as office manager for SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show in September 2022, according to court documents obtained by Us Weekly on April 6.
Well, this escalated fast. Howard Stern and his wife, Beth Stern, are being sued by a former staffer who says working for them at home turned chaotic — and that an NDA supposedly binding her was never actually signed by her. Here is what the lawsuit claims, what is being contested, and where it all sits next to Stern's massive SiriusXM deal.
Who is suing and why now
The plaintiff is Leslie Kuhn, who was hired in September 2022 as an office manager for SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show. She was bumped up to Howard's executive assistant in January 2024, and four months later, she says she was told to relocate to the Sterns' place in Southampton, New York, to keep the job. Howard is 72.
- Sept. 2022: Kuhn joins The Howard Stern Show as office manager at SiriusXM.
- Jan. 2024: She becomes Howard's executive assistant.
- May 2024 (four months later): She is asked to move to Southampton to work out of Howard and Beth's mansion, where, per court filings, Beth also wanted help running the household — managing mansion staff and schedules, handling payroll, and overseeing general operations tied to Beth's extensive at-home feline rescue and fostering.
- Feb. 26: Kuhn's employment is terminated for cause, according to the paperwork; she disputes that.
What Kuhn says happened
In court filings reviewed by Us Weekly on Monday, April 6, Kuhn argues she was pushed out because the job turned into a hostile work environment. She says the pressure at the house was intense, driven by what she calls irresponsible and untenable on-site cat rescue and fostering operations, and that the broader business and accounting setup around the household was massively disorganized and questionable. She also says others enabled the toxicity. Her legal team adds that she intends to lay out the details publicly.
The NDA fight
The lawsuit says a law firm representing Stern's production company sent Kuhn a separation agreement with a nondisclosure clause — but she claims she never signed it. According to the filing, the copy being waved around as her agreement uses a typed name where a signature should be, matching the document's standard font.
"Nothing more than her typewritten name in the same font style and size used to identify the parties' names in the recitals of the agreement."
Kuhn's position: nobody ever presented an NDA for her to sign, so the confidentiality agreement is fabricated and void. She is asking the court to declare the NDA unenforceable and to make the Sterns cover her court costs.
Where Beth's animal work fits into this
Beth Stern is a longtime animal advocate and the national spokesperson for North Shore Animal League America. She helped create Bianca's Furry Friends Feline Adoption Center, which recently opened at North Shore Animal League America — the world's largest no-kill shelter and rescue organization. Kuhn's claims specifically take issue with the scale and management of the at-home fostering operation at the Stern residence. To be clear, these are allegations in a lawsuit; nothing has been proven.
Any response yet?
Us Weekly says it has reached out to Howard and Beth's team for comment. TMZ first reported the lawsuit.
The bigger TV/radio picture
All of this lands as Stern keeps his radio empire humming. In December 2025, he signed a three-year contract extension with SiriusXM, which keeps The Howard Stern Show on the platform through the end of 2028. SiriusXM did not disclose the new terms; the Los Angeles Times has previously reported his expiring deal pays about $100 million a year.