A collective sigh has been let out on social media as a Howard Stern rant has become a viral topic. The SiriusXM radio personality recently expressed his disappointment in the lack of notoriety his celebrity status garners him among Black players in the NBA.
The eyebrow-raising sound bite was pulled from the Monday (May 1) episode of “The Howard Stern Show” but has rampantly been shared since Friday (May 5). “I’ve always sat — you know, the Knicks have been very kind to me. They put me right in the front row. That’s when I knew I was famous,” began his rant. “They put me courtside, and the Black players won’t come over and say hello to me, but they go over to Spike Lee.”
Stern’s co-host, Robin Quivers, asked, “They don’t acknowledge you at all?” He responded, “No. I’ll be sitting next to Tracy Morgan or Chris Rock. You know, they seat you where they seat you. A lot of times when I’m there, I’m next to Tracy Morgan, who’s, you know, so funny. He’s sitting there, and like a couple of the players will come over. They, like, give him that bro shake and stuff. And I’m like, ‘Hmm, these guys should hug me, too.’ I mean, what am I? I mean, I grew up in a Black neighborhood, you know what I mean? I mean, they should know that. But I get ignored,” continued the controversial host.
Quivers questioned why Stern thinks the athletes are seemingly overlooking him. “I think ‘cause I’m a white guy,” he said. “Do you think it’s a racial thing? They’ve gotta talk to some white people,” said his longtime radio partner. “It’s got to be… I want them to talk to me. I want them to come up and say, ‘Hey, Howard! Fan of the show,’ or something. But no, I don’t get that,” Stern explained. Instead, he said he gets plenty of attention from the people calling the shots throughout the game: referees.
The eight-time Billboard National Syndicated Air Personality of the Year recipient didn’t stop there. He added, “I’m like, oh, is everything racial now? Can I get a shoutout?” Quivers suggested that players may recognize him but are opting not to speak to him. Stern quipped, “I’d like to think it’s a white thing, not my personality… I hope it’s racial.”
By and large, most of the reactions to Stern’s head-turning comments provoked social media users to remind him that Spike Lee has remained relevant across generations. Some also pointed out that Stern has a history of making disgraceful and racist comments about Black people, too. Check out some of the tweets below.