Howard Stern is no fan of his younger rival at SiriusXM.
Stern can’t stand SiriusXM colleague Alex Cooper, the host of the podcasting behemoth Call Her Daddy, because of how big her empire has gotten, according to the U.S. Sun. The animosity runs so deep that SiriusXM works to keep them apart whenever the Los Angeles-based Cooper visits SiriusXM’s New York offices, according to the paper.
The news comes after a Sun report that Stern will likely leave his long-running show after his current five-year, $500 million deal with SiriusXM expires at the end of this year. According to the Sun, SiriusXM likely won’t meet Stern’s financial terms.
A SiriusXM spokesperson did not respond to an immediate request for comment. A representative for Cooper did not respond to an immediate request for comment. The Daily Beast has also approached Stern’s management company for comment.
Stern’s frustration with Cooper stems from her success, according to the paper. “She gets hundreds of millions of hits, she has this mega $125 million deal, and he hates that this young bubbly woman is the big new thing,” a source told the Sun.
Cooper brought the relationship and sex-focused Call Her Daddy, which was launched in 2018, from Spotify to SiriusXM last year in a three-year, $125 million deal. The deal was more than double Cooper’s Spotify arrangement.
Since then, she has interviewed former Vice President Kamala Harris and singer Katy Perry.
Stern’s frustrations also extend to Bravo titan Andy Cohen, who has two channels on the satellite radio network. “Andy’s interviews are regularly promoted by Sirius, while you just don’t hear much about Howard’s interviews these days,” another source told the Sun.
A representative for Cohen did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
Stern has not addressed any element of the Sun’s reporting. During a surprise episode of his show last week, which featured an interview with Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, Stern promised he would return on Sept. 2 once his summer break ends.
“We will be back though, very soon,“ he said. ”We’ll be back on the air, live. I’ve been refueling, so to speak.”
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