During the interview, Stern berated Smith about her weight, making crude remarks about her appearance and clothing.
(L & R) Screenshot of Howard Stern and Anna Nicole Smith from the show ‘The Howard Stern Show.’ (Cover Image Source: YouTube | (L & R) @TheHowardSternShow)
In a resurfaced video from 2002, controversial radio host Howard Stern is seen humiliating Anna Nicole Smith on his show by pressuring her to weigh herself live on air. The clip going viral reignited discussions on how the late model and actress was mistreated by the media throughout her career. During the interview, Stern berated Smith about her weight, making crude remarks about her appearance and clothing. Stern remarked, “The way you dress and stuff, I don’t think you’re aware that you’re a heavy-set woman.” Smith, unbothered at first, responded, “I know I’m a big woman — so what?” But what followed was an appalling display of public humiliation.
Stern then attempted to corner Smith and pushed her into stepping on a scale, framing it as a fun segment. He remarked, “So I was guessing your weight, and I was going to say today, can you please get on the scale? And then we’ll have an over-under, that’s all.” As per YourTango, Smith refused and asserted, “No… I’m not going to get on a scale for you to weigh me.” When she refused, his badgering intensified. He exclaimed, “If we weigh you now, I’ll give you $3,000, plus an Xbox for your son.”
Anna Nicole Smith….
Now do Howard Stern 🐸 pic.twitter.com/Q6KtI7LWKO— TEQUILAMOCKINGBIRD (@tequilaskye84) September 23, 2024
The exchange became increasingly uncomfortable, with Smith visibly distressed by the situation. In a rare moment of decency, another co-host, Benji stepped in to defend her, shouting, “She doesn’t want to do it, John, just cut it out.” But Stern and his team continued to mock Smith throughout the interview, further belittling her appearance and personal life. At the time, such treatment was normalized in media, particularly against women. Smith, who first gained fame as a Playboy model and later for her marriage to 89-year-old billionaire J. Howard Marshall was often ridiculed.
As per Mirror, after Marshall’s death, the media painted her as a gold digger, and when she gained weight, tabloids went after her relentlessly. What few knew then was that Smith was battling drug addiction, and some of the medications she was prescribed had weight gain as a side effect. Smith addressed the humiliating interview two years later on ‘The Sharon Osbourne Show,’ called Stern ‘really rude.’ She revealed that his team had tricked her with a hidden scale embedded in the floor. She revealed, “They had a scale there, they booby-trapped me. They were all being mean, saying, ‘I know you weigh 300 pounds,’ It’s not right for him to say that to other women. I wanted an apology.” But Stern refused the demand.
Anna Nicole Smith during the 32nd Annual “American Music Awards” on November 14, 2004 in Los Angeles, California. (Image Source: Getty Images | Photo By Frank Micelotta)
Stern has since expressed regret over his past behavior but has never directly apologized for this interview. He confessed, “I tried to watch some of my old Letterman [appearances]. I couldn’t get through two minutes of it. It’s just not me. I don’t know who that guy is. I do radio differently now than I did then.” Smith tragically passed away in 2007 at the age of 39 from a drug overdose.
