In June 1998, former basketball player Magic Johnson launched a short-lived late-night talk show called The Magic Hour. One of its biggest critics was Howard Stern, who would poke fun at the series on his radio show, mocking everything from Johnson’s comedic timing to his interview skills. At some point, the producers of The Magic Hour thought it would be a good idea to have Stern on as a guest to boost the ratings. Johnson opposed it, but the decision was ultimately out of his hands.
What followed was roughly an hour’s worth of awkward exchanges between the pair. “The thing you need to work on, in my estimation, seriously, is that you’ve gotta stop trying to talk like the white man,” Stern tells Johnson early on in their conversation. The radio host goes on to explain that he grew up in a black neighborhood, and refers to himself as “the blackest black man you’ll ever meet,” while encouraging Johnson to use Ebonics on his show.
“Why does everybody have to understand every word you say? Who cares what you’ve got to say?” Stern continues.
Howard Stern’s 1998 Interview With Magic Johnson Was Somehow Worse Than You Remember
Before long, the topic shifts to Johnson’s sexual history, with Stern claiming to be envious of Johnson. From there, Stern inquires about the types of women Johnson prefers and suggests that Johnson “had fun getting AIDS.” At that point, Johnson pushes back, clarifying that he actually has HIV, not AIDS, and that nobody has fun getting it. “Believe me, brother, you did,” Stern responds, adding, “It sounds like fun to me.”
“So many times, I wanted to say something and hit him at the same time—on air,” Johnson recalled during a 2022 interview with Variety. According to him, the two haven’t spoken since filming the July 1998 episode nearly 30 years ago. Johnson went on to say, “It is what it is. I learned a lot from that. I’ve never put myself—or HIV and AIDS, or my race—in that position again, ever again.”
You can check out the full episode of The Magic Hour featuring Howard Stern above.
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