Radio personality Howard Stern and his wife, Beth Stern, have won a legal dispute against their former executive assistant, Leslie Kuhn, who alleged a hostile work environment and that the couple's production company forged non-disclosure agreements. A judge ruled against Kuhn's claims, which were detailed in court documents.
Kuhn had alleged that her email was hacked in May 2025 and that Howard Stern's production company, One Twelve, forged non-disclosure agreements with her name. However, the court obtained an email from Kuhn's account that included the phrase "Signed NDA attached," along with her electronic signature, leading the judge to describe the forging allegation as "a bald assertion."
Kuhn's lawsuit, filed in April, sought to invalidate a 2025 non-disclosure agreement and a separate 2022 agreement, asserting they prevented her from discussing her experiences working with the Sterns. While Howard Stern had previously agreed not to enforce the 2022 NDA, the dispute centered on the more recent agreement and the alleged forgery.
Kuhn's employment began in September 2022 as an office manager for "The Howard Stern Show" on Sirius XM. She was promoted to executive assistant in January 2024. According to her claims, she was also tasked in May 2024 with managing the Sterns' South Hamptons mansion, which involved overseeing household staff, scheduling, payroll, and general operations, as well as assisting with animal rescue and fostering efforts.
Kuhn's role reportedly expanded to include extensive at-home feline rescue and fostering operations, a cause supported by Beth Stern, an animal activist. In December 2025, Kuhn received a letter outlining a salary increase to $265,000 and an $80,000 bonus for 2026, but she was terminated in February. She attributed her firing to a hostile work environment exacerbated by the pressures of managing the household and its animal rescue operations, alongside disorganized business practices.
In response to the lawsuit, Howard Stern filed a motion to dismiss the case. His attorney stated that the Sterns were entitled to enforce non-disclosure agreements signed by employees who entered their home and private lives, characterizing the legal challenge as a "thinly veiled attempted shakedown" and alleging Kuhn planned to extract a "hush-money" payment.