Artie Lange isn't the only celeb who can't stand Howard Stern, but the animosity he holds
toward his former boss is undeniably personal.
For nearly a decade, Lange served as one of Stern's sidekicks on The Howard Stern Show,
until Lange's battle with drug addiction led to his departure in 2009.
Since then, Lange has staged a comeback doing stand-up, starring on HBO's Crashing, and
writing his second New York Times bestselling memoir.
Between this former comedy duo's complicated showbiz history and their on-and-off friendship,
let's take a look at why Artie Lange hates Howard Stern so much.
The reasons might just surprise you.
Dealing with drug addiction
As Artie Lange's struggle with addiction and depression worsened throughout his tenure
on Howard Stern's show, it increasingly affected his work.
In his 2013 memoir Crash and Burn, the comic wrote:
"My performance […] slid into s--t after eight solid years.”
He'd noticeably lost his timing by 2009 and often fell asleep on air, leading to an indefinite
hiatus for a rehab stint.
Afterwards, Stern decided against inviting Lange back on the show.
He told Rolling Stone,
"I don't even feel strong enough within myself or that I'd be doing the right thing by him,
because I don't want to do the wrong thing for Artie.
I just want Artie to stay alive."
Lange has long-credited Stern for supporting him in his sobriety, but that doesn't mean
the radio DJ knew exactly what the comedian was going through at the height of his addiction.
"He didn't know the extent of it.”
“Yeah.”
“There's no way he could've."
He's critical of Stern
Artie Lange can be counted among the more outspoken critics of The Howard Stern Show's
more politically correct direction during the 2010s.
On his Artie Quitter podcast in December 2016, he claimed that Stern "abandoned" his fans
in exchange for more mainstream success.
Stern hit back on his show in 2015, saying
“I hear that all the time, that I'm PC.”
“Oh, that’s what they said?”
“Yeah, I’m politically correct.
All right, so I'm politically correct, what can I tell you?"
Is Stern "obsessed"?
Artie Lange may not mince his words when it comes to Howard Stern, but the exact opposite
is true for Stern, who's refused to replace and rarely discusses the comedian.
On his podcast Artie Quitter, Lange said,
"He's obsessed with me.
He doesn't bring up my name and I was there for 10 years, that's calculated.”
However, Stern's ongoing silence on the matter may just be a sign of lingering pain over
the difficult situation.
Searching for closure
Ever since he left The Howard Stern Show, Artie Lange has yet to feel a sense of closure.
As he's lamented in multiple interviews over the years, this is partly because he's had
little contact with Stern despite his attempts to reconnect.
"I've called him four times, probably three or four times and left voicemails, and he
never called me back.”
Feeling that he deserves better than both literal and figurative radio silence, the
comedian went on,
"I think, just, all that, just, maybe I earned ten minutes off the air to just let me say
in person 'I'm sorry' and hear him out and hug and say goodbye."
Social media drama
Artie Lange's seemingly one-sided feud with Howard Stern came to a head in May 2018 when
he threatened to post the shock jock's personal phone number on social media if he didn't
send him $2,500, posting,
"Warning Howard Stern: Howard it's Artie.
I've had enough of your s--t!
Sorry it's come to this."
It's unclear what exactly brought all this on or whether Lange was even serious about
following through.
However, a source told Radar Online that it was all in good fun, saying,
"He's joking!
He has a soft spot for Stern.
It's like a love-hate relationship, but Artie will always love Stern."
Their complicated dynamic
After leaving The Howard Stern Show, Artie Lange felt as if he'd lost a father figure
in Stern.
In an interview with PhillyVoice, he said
"We hate each other's guts.
It had a terrible ending.
And that's what happens — then you go into rehab and, you know, they tell you, you lose
friends."
According to Lange, Stern essentially cut him out of his life completely.
Strangely enough, Lange has often attributed this move to their father-son relationship
dynamic.
"He did think of me I think a little bit like a son type of thing."
Perhaps because of this, Lange still feels "totally influenced" by Stern.
He told NJ.com,
"I feel his moves all the time, especially in interviewing.
And without him, there would be nothing right now without Howard."
Common ground
Artie Lange and Howard Stern's falling out has left many fans wondering whether these
two will ever bury the hatchet, but the two were willing to put away their differences
to support a close friend.
The famous comedy duo last saw one another in person in 2012, while visiting their colleague,
Robin Quivers, in the hospital amid her cancer battle.
"It was if I saw him two minutes ago.
He said, you know, ‘Hey, we gotta make Robin laugh.’
That’s what he said to me.
So, we put everything aside for that, and we spoke as if we were on the air for an hour,
just laughed like crazy.”
Reportedly, the two haven't seen each other since that day.