Howard Stern radio update after 'quitting SiriusXM' after two decades

Howard Stern trolled his loyal listeners after an announcement that he is walking away from SiriusXM after almost 20 years on the air - before revealing the whole thing was a prank.

This morning, Andy Cohen confirmed the speculation is true and that the long-serving star has left the station. But after 20 minutes, it all became clear it was a massive joke. Howard said after returning to his show: “I’m going to have to fill everyone in. I was just getting so f*****g annoyed with everyone writing me, asking me if I was okay because I’d been fired.

“I’m minding my own business, enjoying my summer vacation. A reporter says that I’ve been fired for being too woke. In light of the Stephen Colbert firing, because the word on Stephen was that it was all part of this merger, and they fired Stephen because he’s too woke, the story then became ‘Howard Stern is fired because he’s too woke.’ I still don’t even know what that means.

READ MORE: Daisy May Cooper shows off dramatic 10st weight loss and says even she can't believe it

READ MORE: Abbey Clancy baffled as Peter Crouch sneaks off in early hours for surprising new hobby

“Then all of a sudden, I’m sitting home and everybody I know in my world, even peripherally, is writing me. ‘Are you okay, are you okay?’ ” he continued. “None of it is true, zero truth. What p****s me off is that now I can’t leave. I’ve been thinking about retiring. Now I can’t.”

Stern joining the then-Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. in 2006 and the company made him one of the highest-paid people in broadcasting. But after nearly two decades, he appeared to have decided to go - leaving listeners devastated... before the truth came out.

Fans were stunned when Andy Cohen told listeners. “I know you’re expecting a big announcement from Howard and this is not how things were meant to go,” the co-host said. “This was supposed to be a cleaner hand off. I’m kind of winging it.

“I can’t overstate what Howard has meant to this company and what he did for SiriusXM. He walked so that we could run. I can’t possibly fill his void."

Sources say Howard's annoyance came as a result of "frustrations over the new contract," he's been negotiating with the satellite/online radio company. His current eyewatering $500M, five-year deal with SiriusXM expires at the end of this year.

The broadcaster was also believed to be struggling with the deteriorating health of his beloved mother, Ray Schiffman Stern, who will turn 98 in October. "It rips my heart out. I don't want my mom to be uncomfortable. I just want to fix her," Howard said on his show back in February 2022.

'I'm so tired and exhausted. Think of five other words for exhausted and tired and that's what I am. I'm so depressed. I mentioned this on the air yesterday that my mom's not doing well. She's just in a lot of pain, you know? Physical pain," he added at the time.

However, it was Howard's father, Ben, who wound up passing away five months later from prostate cancer.

* This is a breaking showbiz news story. Join The Mirror’s WhatsApp Community or follow us on Google News , Flipboard , AppleNews , TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , and Threads - or visit The Mirror homepage.