Dear Howard Stern: Please Keep Oprah’s Name Out Your Mouth

Howard Stern is doing what he does best: running his mouth about people, places, and things he probably shouldn’t. And who’s his latest target? Oprah Winfrey. I’ll explain.

On Monday’s episode of The Howard Stern Show on SiriusXM, the longtime radio personality fixed his lips to say that through watching Orpah’s posts on social media, he’s come to conclude that the veteran talk show host, author, and media mogul “likes to show off” her wealth and isn’t self-aware enough to see how that may come across to people who are less fortunate than she.

“It’s fucking mind blowing when you follow her on Instagram,” Stern said per Variety. “You see her estates, her gardens, the people who service her and, you know. She’s got servants and, like, people cooking and it’s fucking wild. She knows how to be rich…She kind of likes to show it off, which is something I’m not comfortable with. I don’t think that people should show off their wealth.”

When his cohost Robin Quivers tried to challenge Stern’s stance, proposing that Oprah’s posts were her way of showing us a glimpse into her lifestyle, he continued:

“Well you gotta be a little self-aware and know that there are people struggling out there, Robin. You got to, you gotta kind of think about people who don’t have—to eat. You know what I’m saying? I mean, come on. You gotta be a little bit aware of this shit.

I make a good living, and I’m having trouble watching Oprah. I go, wow. Look what’s going on over there? Her estate is unbelievable. When she goes shopping, she goes shopping in her backyard cause everything is growing back there. There’s a farm back there.”

Ummm, excuse me? If there’s anyone that needs to be self-aware, it’s you, Howard. You just admitted that seeing Oprah’s abundant lifestyle makes you feel some type of way and instead of examining why that is with your therapist, you want to try to make this some moral “What about the children?” moment? Excuse my French but please be fucking for real.

You’re “not comfortable” she gets to go grocery shopping in her backyard? What is it about a Black woman enjoying the literal fruits and vegetables of her labor that really bothers you? Is it because you feel like, even with all the work you’ve put in over the years, you’ll never reach that level of wealth? Newsflash, my man: Neither will most folks in this world! She’s a billionaire—a philanthropic, largely un-problematic one at that. Let’s not act like she’s out here being flashy and showing off her latest bust down Patek, SS23 Chanel Couture fits, or brand-new Bugatti every three-to-five business days. But even if she was—IT’S HER MONEY and she can spend it how she wants.

As the whole, grown adult that you are, I would’ve thought you’d learn by now how unwise it is to try to count other people’s coins. Why are you, as a man, worried about what another person—a wealthy Black woman who worked hard for everything she got, at that—does with their dollars? If seeing people live in the lap of luxury messes with you that much, then might I suggest you purge your social media timeline and keep in mind that even for folks like Oprah, those apps only show the highlight reel. The unfollow and block buttons are right there.

Remember: no can make you feel inferior without your consent. So the way I see it, you’ve got two choices: 1) You can either admit you’re projecting and go seek help OR 2) You can keep Oprah’s name out your mouth and get your bread up. Your choice.