Howard Stern has cemented his place as a radio legend over the course of a long and controversial
career, perfecting the art of making his guests feel relaxed, and prompting them to share
very personal stories.
In fact, Stern's guests often find themselves answering questions that would never fly in
most interviews.
Here are some of the most outrageous and shocking celebrity confessions uttered on The Howard
Stern Show.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith have long been one of Hollywood's most beloved couples.
They've been married for more than two decades, and share two kids together as well as Will's
son from a previous marriage.
Still, Jada and Will have been the subject of rumors regarding their open marriage.
Jada took to Stern's show in 2015 to set the record straight.
"You've gotta trust who you're with. And at the end of the day, right..."
"Right"
"Yeah"
"I'm not here to be anybody's watcher."
So what does not being Will's watcher mean for their relationship?
"I'm not the kind of woman that believes that a man is not gonna be attracted to other women."
"I'm just not that girl."
"Right."
"And just because your man is attracted to other women doesn't mean he doesn't love you!"
That confession, of course, did nothing to quiet the gossip about this power couple.
But hey, whatever their relationship is like, it's clearly working for them.
Madonna's lost love
Madonna's dating history includes a lengthy list of well-known men including Sean Penn,
Guy Ritchie, and even Vanilla Ice, but during a show-stopping interview with Howard Stern
in 2015, the "Material Girl" dropped a dating bomb by revealing a previously unknown romantic
relationship.
The news emerged as Stern was grilling Madonna about her infamous, profanity-laced 1994 interview
with David Letterman.
"I was dating Tupac Shakur at the time. And thing is, he got me all riled up about life in general, so when I went on his show I was feeling very gangster."
That explanation caught Stern totally off guard.
"I didn't know you dated Tupac Shakur."
That's never been out there, I don't think."
G.I.
No
You may not want to burn the bridge that gave you success.
Just ask Channing Tatum.
In 2015, the actor bashed the studio that gave him a three-picture movie deal, slamming
his role in the 2009 film G.I.
Joe: The Rise of Cobra.
"Look, I'll be honest.
I f---ing hate that movie"
Tatum was brutally honest when he described the quality of the project.
"The script wasn't any good."
"I didn't want to do something I thought, one, bad. And two, I didn't know if I wanted to be GI Joe."
Tatum also explained to Stern that he felt pushed into doing the movie by the studio.
"They give you the contract and they go, 'Three picture deal, here you go.'"
"And as a young, you're like, 'OMG, yeah, that sounds amazing. I'm doing that!'"
Regardless, Tatum's career seems to be doing just fine.
Divorce-landia
After only knowing each other for a year, Fred Armisen married Elisabeth Moss in 2009,
only for the pair to call it quits eight months later.
Speaking of their marriage, Moss told New York Magazine:
"It was extremely traumatic and awful and horrible."
The Handmaid's Tale star has opened up to several publications since then with her blunt
assessment of where the blame should lie for the demise of their relationship.
In a particularly harrowing 2012 interview with Page Six she shared:
"One of the greatest things I heard someone say about [Armisen] is, 'He's so great at
doing impersonations.
But the greatest impersonation he does is that of a normal person.'
To me, that sums it up."
Naturally, when Armisen sat down with Stern a year later, that topic came up.
"You must be a terrible husband…"
"I think I was a terrible husband. I think I was a terrible boyfriend.
Armisen then revealed that he rushes into relationships before really thinking things
through.
"Somewhere around like, a year, two years, I get freaked out. Freaked out emotionally and it actually feels like..
"OMG. Who's this stranger in my house?"
Lauer's true colors
A lot has happened with Matt Lauer since 2013, but in the summer of that year, the former
Today show personality stopped by Stern's SiriusXM studio and opened up about his relationship
with Katie Couric, his former co-anchor.
Couric confessed to having a crush on Lauer during an earlier appearance on Stern, so
naturally, this became a hot topic of discussion.
Lauer told Stern:
"She's a very attractive woman, not only physically, but her personality.
[…] If she's a 9 or 10 physically, she's a 14 because she's got a great personality.
She's fun."
Lauer said he never pursued a romantic relationship with his coworker but made the outrageous
boast that if he had, Couric would not have been able to resist his charms, adding:
"She would have been knocking on my door constantly.
She would have never left me alone."
Lady Gaga's devil
Lady Gaga is known for baring every element of her soul in her music.
Whether it's talking about depression, abuse or political rights, she's an open book.
During a 2011 interview with Stern, the pop star came clean about heavy drug use in her
past.
"I was so unhappy…"
"Right."
"Yeah? I think that I was lonely and there was something about it that made me feel like I had a friend."
Gaga says she became creative during that time, but that it wasn't worth it.
"I did it all alone in my apartment and I wrote music."
"I regret every line I ever did.
So to any of the little sweethearts that are listening, don't touch it, it's the devil."
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