Howard Stern‘s former assistant Leslie Kuhn is not chasing after the funds, at least that is what she is claiming.
The comedian’s ex-aide’s attorneys insist that claims of her demanding any 7-figure settlement from him and his wife in the hostile work environment lawsuit are untrue because there is a different plan.
Howard Stern’s former assistant accused the comedian and his wife, Beth Stern, of wrongful termination, adding her to a plethora of former staff who came out to share details of their unpleasant working experience with him.
Howard Stern’s Ex-Assistant Cleared The Air On The $2.5 Million Claims
Kuhn reportedly added her demand for the seven-figure sum in the lawsuit, which, according to her attorney, is untrue as she is not seeking any compensatory damages but instead wants the NDAs to be declared void and unenforceable. The document, which was filed on Sunday, April 12, reportedly sought to protect Kuhn’s right to speak freely about her employment and firing.
According to her, the monetary value of the right is not less than $2.5 million, as she had to assign $500,000 to the relief she was seeking in order to get her case in front of the New York County Supreme Court. Despite this, Stern does not have to pay her that lump sum even if she wins, as her primary request is to secure her right to discuss her experience working with the media personality.
As shared by The Daily Mail, Stern, his wife, his One Twelve, Inc., production company, and The Howard Stern production company were all named in Kuhn’s original lawsuit as participants in a fraudulent and unenforceable non-disclosure agreement.
Leslie Kuhn Detailed The Presentation Of The Non-Disclosure Agreement
The former assistant to the comedian shared that a law firm representing Stern had presented her with a separation agreement, which came with an airtight NDA. Kuhn added that she noticed that the agreement had been signed years earlier, before she ever began working in the radio presenter’s home.
As shared by The Blast, Kuhn registered that the agreement had been signed before she was interviewed. The former assistant noted that the signature in the document came with a typewritten version of her name in a similar font, style, and size used to identify the parties’ names in the recitals of the agreement.
The NDA claims came alongside allegations of Stern overburdening her with work and tasks outside her description during her two-year sojourn with the couple. However, she left abruptly due to a hostile work environment.
Howard Stern’s Former Executive Assistant Was Restricted From Discussing An Array Of Things
Kuhn, who was in charge of the couple’s Hampton home, detailed that the NDA forbade her from discussing business matters and other personal affairs relating to the couple. She stated that some major boundaries were established across divulging information about the family’s day-to-day activities, personal habits, including their food preferences, sleeping habits, and hobbies.
Kuhn added that she was also restricted from discussing the type of consumer products her former employers used, restaurants they visited, hotels they preferred, or other establishments they fancied. The Blast shared that the former executive assistant revealed that she must also stay away from discussing “any other matters affecting or relating to the Company and its business, and the personal and business affairs of the Company.”
From location, contents of residences, other properties, and travel arrangements, Kuhn was barred from making them public or press property. The former assistant had also slammed Stern and his wife’s irresponsible and untenable animal rescue and fostering operations occurring on site, which were massively disorganized and accompanied by questionable business operations.
The Comedian’s NDA Is Allegedly A One-Way Street
Interestingly, the former assistant noted that the NDA does not stop Stern and his wife from divulging information about her. The filed document stressed that such a contractual relationship would place Kuhn at a disadvantage because she is in a position with less influence and resources than her former boss.
The document emphasized that Kuhn was at an unfair position personally, professionally, and publicly with the strict terms against her utterances as stipulated in the non-disclosure agreement.
The former assistant continued that at a point in their working relationship, her earnings were bumped up, and she was handed a letter to that effect in December 2025. The content of the letter reportedly stated that Kuhn’s salary would be increased to $265,000 alongside an $80,000 bonus in 2026, although she was relieved of that job two months into the new year.
Confessions From Another Former Staff Member Of Howard Stern
Kuhn is not the first to open up about Stern’s history of alleged maltreatment of his staff. In a 2023 Vice TV docuseries “Dark Side of the 2000s Shock Jocks,” a staff member who worked on “The Howard Stern Show” from 1986 to 2005 alluded that the comedian paying his employees their well-deserved wages was always a hassle.
According to a writer and cast member for the show, Jackie Martling, a large chunk of Stern’s staff did not get a whiff of what they rightfully earned, despite the mouth-watering net worth of the on-air personality, which ran into millions of dollars. Martling emphasized that so much money was coming in at the time, and Stern refused to feed into that momentum by failing to increase the salaries of staff, which made him sever ties.
“You are beyond rich and successful, and you have someone sitting next to you who makes you enjoy that job much more. And you let them go? Because he asked for more money? Especially when you’re friends. It boggles the mind,” Martling stated. Another employee from the show, John Melendez, revealed that he was making a paltry $20,000 annually after working for Stern for 15 years before he finally left to join Jay Leno, where he earned around $350,000 to $400,000.