For the better part of fifty years, Howard Stern has spoken aloud about things that most people keep to themselves. Because he seemed to operate without the filters that controlled everyone else, he became one of the most recognizable voices in American media and built an empire on radical transparency, or at least on the performance of it. The news that a former assistant is now suing him for allegedly using a broad nondisclosure agreement to make sure she couldn’t say anything at all is somewhat ironic.
The details of Leslie Kuhn’s lawsuit, which she filed in New York State Court on April 6, 2026, are so vivid that they immediately appeared in entertainment media. In September 2022, Kuhn started working for Stern as the Howard Stern Show’s office manager at SiriusXM. She was elevated to executive assistant at Stern’s production company, One Twelve, by January 2024. Then, in May 2024, she was asked to move to the Sterns’ estate in Southampton, New York, called Oceanview, a 20,000-square-foot property valued at approximately $50 million. Her responsibilities there included scheduling, managing household employees, processing payroll, and helping with what the complaint refers to as Beth Stern’s “extensive at-home feline rescue and fostering operations.”
As a board member and national spokesperson for North Shore Animal League America, Beth Stern has long been an advocate for animal welfare. According to the lawsuit, she fosters a large number of stray dogs and cats at the family’s house, which Kuhn characterizes as “irresponsible and untenable” conditions. Although the complaint doesn’t provide precise figures or incidents, its language is direct: it claims that the animal rescue operation created “immense pressures on the household” and directly contributed to the hostile environment that Kuhn claims she encountered. That accusation has an odd specificity: it’s not financial misconduct or a shouting match, but rather the pressure of a large-scale animal welfare operation operating inside a private home against the backdrop of a demanding executive role.
Important Information: Howard Stern Lawsuit — Leslie Kuhn v. Howard Stern et al.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Defendant | Howard Stern (born January 12, 1954) |
| Co-Defendant | Beth Ostrosky Stern (wife) |
| Howard Stern Age | 72 |
| Beth Stern Age | 53 |
| Profession | Radio Personality, SiriusXM Host (The Howard Stern Show) |
| Production Company | One Twelve |
| Plaintiff | Leslie Kuhn (former executive assistant) |
| Plaintiff’s Attorney | John J. Leonard |
| Lawsuit Filed | April 6, 2026 (New York State Court) |
| Court | New York State Court |
| Plaintiff’s Employment Start | September 2022 (office manager, SiriusXM) |
| Promoted To | Executive Assistant, January 2024 |
| Relocation | Southampton, New York (Stern’s Oceanview mansion), May 2024 |
| Salary at Termination | $265,000/year (raised from $100,000 in December 2025) |
| Bonus | $80,000 (promised December 2025) |
| Termination Date | February 2026 |
| Reason Given | Misconduct detrimental to reputation |
| Plaintiff’s Counter-Claim | Hostile work environment; NDA allegedly forged |
| Damages Sought | None — only seeks court order voiding the NDA |
| Comparable Case | Robert De Niro’s former assistant awarded $1.3 million after gender discrimination trial |
| Beth Stern’s Animal Work | National spokesperson and board member, North Shore Animal League America |
Kuhn’s employers gave her what seemed to be a big vote of confidence in December 2025. Her yearly salary was increased from $100,000 to $265,000. A bonus of $80,000 was promised. It’s the kind of package that implies her work was appreciated, at the very least. She was let go in February 2026, six weeks later. According to the lawsuit, the stated reason was “misconduct of a nature that would be detrimental to one’s reputation.” Kuhn completely disputes the description, claiming that it was made up, specifically by Beth Stern, according to the complaint.
The fact that Kuhn is not pursuing monetary damages is what makes the case unique and has garnered the greatest attention. A court order deeming the nondisclosure agreement she was given during her exit negotiations void is all she wants. She says she never signed it, which is the reason. She claims that the NDA in question has a fake signature on it. And when its contents were made public, they caused controversy outside of the legal community. According to reports, the agreement forbade Kuhn from talking about the Sterns’ “daily activities and personal habits,” which included their food preferences, sleeping patterns, hobbies, entertainment choices, hotel and restaurant selections, political affiliations, and “any other matters affecting or relating to the Company and its business, and the personal and business affairs of the Company.” Friends and family were covered. Almost everything was covered.
John Leonard, Kuhn’s lawyer, clearly stated the problem. He claimed that the NDA is biased because it permits the Sterns to openly discuss Kuhn while she is still subject to legal restrictions. He told reporters that the fundamental issue was that asymmetry. He proposed that a document that grants one party total freedom of speech while forbidding the other from defending herself is not an agreement. It’s a gag order disguised as a contract.
The Hollywood Reporter immediately drew a comparison to Robert De Niro’s former assistant. In that instance, an executive assistant with the impressive title of vice president of production and finance filed a lawsuit against De Niro for retaliation and gender discrimination after she was given household chores that allegedly included buttoning his shirts and cleaning his sheets. She received a $1.3 million award from a jury. Lawyers on both sides are undoubtedly aware of how the employment dynamics in that case—high-ranking title, domestic expectations, and power imbalance—echo the Kuhn complaint.
As this develops, it seems that the lawsuit is really about language and power: who gets to say what happened, under what circumstances, and to whom. Kuhn is not requesting cash. She is requesting permission to speak. Although the legal request is limited, the cultural space it encompasses is much larger. Since the larger discussion about power dynamics in the workplace has changed, NDAs in celebrity employment have come under closer scrutiny. Even in that context, a document that addresses sleeping patterns and dietary preferences is unusual. Whatever it was that Kuhn went through inside Oceanview is still unknown. The purpose of her lawsuit is to provide her with the legal authority to alter that.
