Howard Stern, wife sued by ex-assistant over hostile work environment, NDA dispute

Howard Stern and his wife, Beth, are facing a lawsuit from a former executive assistant who claims she was fired from a hostile work environment and then presented with a fraudulent nondisclosure agreement to keep her from speaking publicly about her time working for the couple.

Leslie Kuhn began working for Mr. Stern in September 2022 as an office manager for “The Howard Stern Show,” according to the complaint. She became his executive assistant in January 2024 and moved into what the complaint describes as the couple’s 20,000-square-foot Southampton mansion in May 2024, where she managed household staff, handled scheduling and payroll, and oversaw day-to-day operations — including Beth Stern’s at-home cat rescue and fostering organization, Beth’s Furry Friends.

Ms. Kuhn claims she was fired in February, less than two years after moving in, despite receiving a letter in December from Mr. Stern’s production company, One Twelve, promising her a raise to $265,000 and an $80,000 bonus for 2026. She attributes her termination to a hostile work environment driven by what she calls “irresponsible and untenable animal rescue and fostering operations occurring on-site, and massively disorganized and questionable business operations and accounting practices.”

The Sterns have long been open about their passion for animal rescue. Ms. Stern’s nonprofit has said the couple has helped provide care and find adoptions for more than 2,000 cats and kittens over the past six years.

Ms. Kuhn also disputes the validity of an NDA that Mr. Stern’s legal team says binds her. She alleges the document was backdated to appear as though it had been signed when she first began working for the Sterns, when in fact she says it was presented at the time of her firing. She further claims her signature on the document is nothing more than her typewritten name in the same font used elsewhere in the agreement.

The suit was filed Sunday in New York County Supreme Court and names Mr. Stern, Ms. Stern, The Howard Stern Production Company and One Twelve Inc. as defendants. Ms. Kuhn is asking a court to void the NDA, arguing that it would leave her — “a mere at-will employee with considerably less influence and resources than the Sterns” — at an unfair disadvantage while allowing the couple to speak freely about her.