Howard Stern<\/a> has branded his former assistant’s claims as a “thinly veiled attempted shakedown”.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Howard Stern has responded to the lawsuit<\/p>\n
The 72-year-old shock jock has responded to claims of a hostile work environment made by his former employee Leslie Kuhn, who filed a lawsuit against Howard and his wife Beth Stern on April 5.<\/p>\n
As reported by PEOPLE, attorneys for the couple filed a motion this week to dismiss the suit, in which they described Kuhn’s complaint as a “thinly veiled attempted shakedown”, and “a plan to extract a staggering ‘hush-money’ payment”.<\/p>\n
In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, his attorney said: “We are not going to play this out in public.<\/p>\n
“The Sterns are entitled to enforce nondisclosure agreements signed by employees who enter their home and their private life, and they have filed a motion to address the lawsuit and the conduct of Ms. Kuhn and her lawyer.”<\/p>\n
\nKuhn has alleged that she was presented with \u201cfraudulent and unenforceable\u201d non-disclosure agreements after her employment, which began in September 2022 at SiriusXM on The Howard Stern Show, before becoming Howard\u2019s executive assistant in January 2024.<\/p>\n
\nShe later relocated in May 2024 to Southampton, New York, to work at the couple\u2019s home.<\/p>\n
\nAccording to the complaint, Leslie said: \u201cAt no time was Kuhn\u2019s employment as Stern\u2019s Executive Assistant ever conditioned on Kuhn entering into an employment contract or non-disclosure\/confidentiality agreement with any person or persons, natural or otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nLeslie claims her role expanded significantly after the move, alleging Beth required her to oversee household staff, payroll and operations, including the couple\u2019s cat rescue activities. <\/p>\n
\nHer employment was terminated in February 2026. <\/p>\n
\nThe filing states the dismissal was due to a \u201chostile work environment and enablement of that hostile work environment, immense pressures on the household created by irresponsible and untenable animal rescue and fostering operations occurring on-site, and massively disorganized and questionable business operations and accounting practices\u201d.<\/p>\n
\nShe also alleges she was accused of \u201calleged misconduct\u201d by One Twelve\u2019s vice-president of finance, Mark D. Garten, before her dismissal \u2013\u00a0which she denies. <\/p>\n
\nKuhn further claims she had previously been promised a salary increase to $265,000 and an $80,000 bonus in 2026.<\/p>\n
\nThe complaint states Leslie was presented with a \u201cseparation agreement\u201d on or about 26 February 2026 that included an NDA. <\/p>\n
\nShe alleges the document was backdated and made to appear as though it had been signed at the start of her employment, adding the signature \u201cis nothing more than her typewritten name in the same font style and size used to identify the parties\u2019 names in the recitals of the agreement”.<\/p>\n
\nLeslie claims the NDA was \u201cmanufactured by the Defendants in general and Beth Stern in particular,\u201d and is seeking a ruling that the NDA and confidentiality agreement are unenforceable so she can speak \u201cfreely\u201d about her employment and termination.<\/p>\n
\nIn Stern’s new motion, PEOPLE reports that he alleged Kuhn “manufactured a nonexistent ‘dispute’ and filed this pretextual lawsuit founded on a series of bald-faced lies”.<\/p>\n
\nIt’s added that she “indisputably signed” the non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements, before allegedly “immediately” going to the press “to generate negative, utterly false publicity, hoping the Sterns would simply pay her to make her ‘go away'”.<\/p>\n
\nThe filing claims the Sterns never spoke negatively of the former employee in public.<\/p>\n
\nTheir attorneys claim: “The only reason Kuhn’s termination has become public is because she and her counsel chose to file this sensationalised lawsuit announced her termination to the world and then deliberately fanned media attention.”<\/p>\n
\nThey continued: “Attempting to cloak herself as a silenced victim, Kuhn pretends she filed this action to ‘protect her reputation’ and defend herself against ‘accusations’ defendants made. Nonsense.<\/p>\n
\n“Kuhn does not and cannot allege that defendants ever disclosed, or even threatened to disclose, any information about her.”<\/p>\n
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