Howard Stern’s career has continued despite years of racist, sexist, and ableist comments that have ended other entertainers’ careers. What explains the difference between his situation and that of Michael Richards, Roseanne Barr, or Paula Deen?
Why do some celebrities manage to recover from past offensive behavior, while others face lasting backlash?
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His brand was to be “shocking”. Like Anthony Jeselnik.
Michael Richard’s, didn’t try to stay.
Rosanne Barr and Paula Deen are women.
I don’t know how to explain this, but I’m going to try. Some people’s fan base become fans of them knowing how they are. And sometimes it’s a shock.
For example, Howard Stern has always been crude. So even if he says something so crude that it makes headlines and people get mad about it, the fans of theirs are cool with that behavior..
However, if there is someone who is known to be wholesome, and then they say something offensive, their fans are less likely to be cool with that, because they liked someone they thought was wholesome. The ones who get canceled are usually the ones who do something that isn’t what people thought they were.
Stern mocked racists
That was Howard Stern’s brand – to be shocking. He wasn’t “caught” at it, it was part of the character he was portraying.
Yeah I’m flabbergasted anyone gives any money to Chris Brown. Abusers never stop.
Because the people that call people out for this kind of behaviour truly don’t care. They just want their “gothcha moment” and the public is simply entertained by seeing people of esteem being knocked down/watching them squirm. When public figures refuse to acknowlege or show remorse/be apologetic there is no “gotcha moment” and the public doesn’t get the pleasure of watching someone squirm.
It’s all a show.
because it’s not shocking when a shock jock says or does something shocking
Because it’s expected of him. Same reason no one is shocked when a rapper gets arrested or shot.
Part of it has to do with the defensiveness of the person. When all evidence shows you as a liar and you continue to claim innocence, you look like a fool and you’re telling your supporters that they’re too stupid to see the truth.
Good question. Don Imus called some black female athletes “nappy headed hoes” and got fired and basically cancelled. Howard Stern has said way worse than that many many times and he hasn’t been.
Louis CK is a good example of owning it well. https://youtube.com/shorts/eNMm7aHjEDc?si=wI5AY6SkCsLgIPDv
Howard Stern took off BECAUSE of his crude nature. When he hit the scene, he was constantly giving censorship a run for their money. He was pushing a brand of entertainment that, for better or worse, was very far removed from what was typically normal and successful on morning tall radio.
It helps that, he came on the scene at a pretty rebellious time in entertainment as well. Things during the 80s and early 90s were trending edgier, humor was getting more crude. MTV was taking off, shows like Beavis and Butthead were getting air time. Additionally, many Gen Xrs and Early Millennials were also rebelling against censorship, conservative values and ate up every bit of raunchy, adult humor that was pushed.
Worth noting: Howard Stern was intentionally gross and vulgar, for shock value. Once he jumped to Satellite and realized he could do anything, he softened a lot of his antics and has since publicly apologized for a lot of his behavior. He also has done a LoT of charity work with his wife for years. Doesn’t excuse it, but its more than a lot of celebrities have done.
Compare to a Michael Richards, who had a racist rant in the middle of a nightclub that was offcolor, he didn’t get any kind of slack because the mask slipped. When Hulk Hogan was caught on camera using racial slurs and doing unethical shit in his business, it destroyed his image of “Hey kids, take your vitamins, Hulkster prays every night”.
If Cena gets caught saying or doing something awful, his image is gonna tank and he’ll not get any kind of leeway. If Ezra Miller gets arrested for hitting someone else in a nightclub, again, people are gonna yawn. If Taylor Swift gets caught saying a racial slur, even with her fanclub, shes gonna have to fight to get above it. If Mel Gibson gets another anti-semetic rant posted to YouTube, I think people are just gonna shrug a bit.
Its all a matter of how you got famous, what you’re famous for, and what image you’re pushing. Celebrities who try to push a clean, wholesome image who get caught doing criminal or gross shit are less likely to be forgiven than people who (again, for better or worse) have been authentically themselves, even if questionable, their career.
I SMH over the hate for Will Smith on Reddit. As it’s not universal of course. Actors have done so much worse. And Reddit brings it up on any post about him. I’m just embarrassed he did a silly slap. If you are really that upset for your wife punch the guy.
Don’t worry, ol hollywood Howie has been nothing but a shell of his former self for 15 years now.
The thing also about Stern is that he admits he was a complete arse in the past. He also talks about the years of therapy he has gone through and owning up to his behavior including working with his own children in therapy to overcome his parenting fails.
It’s a lot easier to overlook bad behavior when someone seems to genuinely recognize how shitty they were and try to do better in the future
Crazy how no one has brought up race or gender yet….typical Reddit.
People are harsher or some more than others
He just fits his fan base. You know he’s sexist and racist but so is most of his fan base.
Kind of like how our president is a pedo. So his fan base is…
Depends if the celerity shows remorse and amends their ways. You are allowed certain transgressions without completely alienating your audience.
Depends on if that’s how they got to their fame or not.
Idk, in terms with Howard Stern at least its cause you expect it from him cause he had always been a shock jock and made his fame with it, I guess with others it’s the opposite you don’t expect it from them at all.