Howard Stern staged a fake exit from SiriusXM on Monday morning that briefly fooled multiple newsrooms and led to on-air corrections, including a startled reaction from CNBC anchors who relayed the bogus report live.
The gag unfolded at 7 a.m. Eastern, the moment Stern was scheduled to return from vacation, when Bravo executive Andy Cohen opened the radio channel from Stern’s seat and announced that SiriusXM and Stern had “parted ways.” Cohen pitched a new “Andy 100” channel and delivered a deadpan handoff that amplified online speculation about Stern’s contract and absence. CNBC “Squawk Box” hosts Andrew Ross Sorkin and Becky Quick told viewers Stern had walked away and was being replaced; minutes later Quick interrupted to say Stern had “trolled” the audience, prompting Sorkin to blurt, “That whole thing was a joke?!”
Stern then joined longtime co-host Robin Quivers and disclosed the stunt, saying there was “zero truth” to rumors that he’d been fired or replaced and that he remained “very happy” at SiriusXM. He told listeners he had been sick the prior week and said he was frustrated by messages asking whether he had been terminated, adding, “I was just getting so f—ing annoyed with everyone writing me, asking me if I was OK because I’d been fired.”
The prank quickly rippled through the media. The Associated Press published an alert and story reporting Stern had left SiriusXM, which was republished by partner sites including WTOP and the New Haven Register before the AP removed the dispatch and issued corrections. Other outlets and aggregators, among them Forbes, Sinclair’s KEYE in Texas and local newspapers, also ran items based on Cohen’s staged takeover and later updated or pulled their copy. Media observers highlighted how the bit exposed the speed at which social posts and viral video can be treated as confirmation.
CNBC aired a chyron reading “Howard Stern parts ways with SiriusXM” during the initial reports and later corrected on air. Video clips of the exchange circulated widely, with commentators noting how quickly anchors and wire services accepted the handoff as genuine amid persistent contract chatter.
The prank landed amid weeks of public speculation about Stern’s future at SiriusXM and the status of a previously reported multiyear, roughly $500 million deal. SiriusXM executives had recently described themselves as “hopeful” about a renewal but had not disclosed terms, and Stern’s absence over the summer had fueled rumors — including assertions by some commentators that he was being pushed out for appearing “too woke.” Cohen’s dry performance leaned into that swirl of headlines, timing the stunt to the exact hour listeners expected Stern to return.
News organizations responded by updating headlines and issuing removal notices, and several outlets flagged their initial coverage as premature. Mediaite and other industry publications posted clips of the CNBC correction, while entertainment outlets such as TMZ and the Daily Beast tracked the prank’s spread across social platforms.
SiriusXM did not immediately issue a separate statement beyond the on-air clarification. By late morning, coverage had shifted from reporting a departure to documenting the prank and the ensuing corrections at major news organizations. The episode underscored the challenges facing newsrooms in an environment where high-profile talent, social media amplification and longstanding contract rumors can converge to create misleading first impressions.
By the time Stern concluded the segment with Quivers, several outlets had updated their stories to reflect that Stern remained on the air and that the earlier reports were the result of a planned bit. The incident left editors and anchors publicly correcting the record and prompted broader discussion about verification in the race to publish breaking developments in entertainment and culture.