Howard Stern Fires Back at Lawsuit Filed by Former Employee Leslie Kuhn, Calls It a ‘Shakedown’

Howard Stern has fired back at former employee Leslie Kuhn who filed a lawsuit against him and his wife, Beth Stern.

Court documents filed by Stern, 72, and obtained by Page Six on Thursday, April 30, described the lawsuit as a “shakedown” and said it was a “transparent sham.”

Kuhn — who worked as an office manager and executive assistant — claimed in her lawsuit that she was presented with a backdated termination and non-disclosure agreements when she was let go earlier this year, per TMZ.

She is seeking to have the agreements thrown out, arguing she never signed them, so she can respond to “accusations made against her” and “protect her reputation and future employment prospects.”

But Stern’s response argued that they have proof Kuhn knowingly signed the documents and that the radio personality already told her in writing that he would not discuss the reasons for her termination and would not give her bad references.

“The reason Kuhn filed this lawsuit was to pressure the Stern Parties into making an outlandish payment to make her go away,” the Sirius XM host’s filing read, per Page Six. “The sole reason Kuhn’s termination has become a matter of public record is because Kuhn and her counsel chose to publicize it by filing this lawsuit.”

Ilene Farkas, the shock jock’s lawyer, told the outlet that “the Sterns are entitled to enforce non-disclosure agreements signed by employees who enter their home and their private life,” adding that he was “not going to play this out in public.”

As Globe previously reported, Kuhn filed documents on April 12 asking for $2.5 million in damages.