Howard Stern was caught off guard earlier this month when his pal Jerry Seinfeld publicly questioned his comedy prowess or “chops” during a recorded podcast interview.
Seinfeld went as far to say that he’d been “outflanked” by other podcast hosts in the business.
The comments went viral, prompting Seinfeld to issue a statement begging for Stern’s forgiveness.
Stern is now sharing how the comments impacted him and if Seinfeld actually apologized in private.
JERRY SEINFELD ASKS HOWARD STERN FOR FORGIVENESS AFTER SUGGESTING HE ISN’T FUNNY
Howard Stern broke his silence a week after Jerry Seinfeld publicly apologized for questioning Stern’s “comedy chops.” (Getty Images)
While speaking on his own program, “The Howard Stern Show” on Monday, the longtime radio host shared how he learned of Seinfeld’s comments, admitting he was scrolling through Google News.
“It was like this headline that, you know, Jerry had said that basically I’m an interviewer and that I’m not a comedian, and now comedians have podcasts and comedians are you know, funnier or something than me. So I read it and I went to my wife, ‘Oh, that’s weird, because Jerry’s like a personal friend of ours.'”
Howard Stern said he relayed his confusion about Jerry’s comments to his wife Beth, who in turn shared the news with Jerry’s wife, Jessica. (Getty Images)
“His wife, Jessica is really good friends with [my wife] Beth. They text each other regularly,” Stern continued. Stern also revealed that he’d recently spoken to Seinfeld, which made the comments that much more perplexing.
Stern says he had called Seinfeld asking if he was okay due to anti-Israel protesters attending his events.
“You know we had a nice conversation, but anyway long story short I read it and I went, ‘Oh s—.’ … I didn’t even care,” Stern admitted, adding that Seinfeld had just “come off a really bad week.”
Jerry Seinfeld has recently been subjected to anti-Israel protesters at his events, and most recently as the commencement speaker at Duke University. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
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“So Beth texted Jessica. Jessica told Jerry. Jerry called me immediately and was like, ‘Oh f—. I f—ed up. And I want to apologize,” he recalled. “He goes, ’You know when you’re on the air, and s— just comes out wrong. I was trying to say you know, you’re this interviewer.’ I said, ‘Jerry, you don’t even have to — please, this [is] embarrassing. I am the king of going on the air and having millions of regrets afterwards. Apology accepted. I don’t care.'”
Howard Stern says he quickly forgave Jerry Seinfeld, especially after the actor “apologized for a really long time.” (Getty Images)
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“I don’t know what I am,” Stern continued. “I always considered myself a bit of a comedian, but whatever it is, don’t worry about it. And he apologized for a really long time. And he said it came out wrong.”
Stern then revealed Seinfeld was willing to apologize on Stern’s turf. “He says, ‘Can I come on the show today and apologize?’ I said, ‘Not necessary. I don’t want to get into it. It’s awkward. It’s fine,'” admitting he’s had to apologize to Seinfeld and many others in the past.
Howard Stern admitted that he’s made some questionable remarks on air that he’s had to apologize for in the past. (Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
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“I can get affected by what people say and certainly… I’d love to have Jerry’s respect… But I also recognize that I’ve said some really weird s— on the air and afterwards I go, ‘Why the f— did I say that? It came out all wrong.’ So I accepted the apology graciously,” Stern said.
“Whatever Jerry said about me, it wasn’t worse than what my own mother said about me,” Stern joked, later in the show.
Jerry Seinfeld publicly apologized to Howard Stern last week. (Getty Images)
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Seinfeld also made a public apology last week, telling Page Six that he was deeply remorseful for how he’d phrased things while appearing on an episode of David Spade and Dana Carvey’s podcast, “Fly on the Wall.”
“I really feel bad for what I said about my friend Howard Stern in a conversation with David Spade and Dana Carvey, talking about the glut of comedy podcasts,” he told the outlet. “I meant to say he must feel surrounded, but I said ‘outflanked,’ which sounded terrible and insulting. And of course, none of these little shows are any threat to his giant show. Anyway, it was bad, and I’m sorry, Howie. I still love you. Please forgive me.”