Last week, as Howard Stern prepared to bask in the lime-green glow of his latest book release, the nation's most beloved and reviled (and best-paid) shock jock took two swift kicks in the pants - and probably enjoyed them. First, the Miss America Pageant demanded that HarperCollins change the name of its new Stern tome, Miss America, which pictures, on the cover of all 1 million copies in print, the stringy-haired DJ in drag. Next, Stern's employer, Infinity Broadcasting, paid the Federal Communications Commission $1 million as the first installment of its settlement of indecency charges stemming from Stern's on-air cracks about child molesting and masturbation. The $1.7 million penalty is the largest ever leveled against a broadcaster....
...Last week, Stern sat down at his K-Rock offices with New York's Maer Roshan for a candid 2-hour interview...
(Stern, after talking about going to see a doctor about his back pain, and finding out he believes the cause was psychological:)
Stern: I know there's a whole bunch of things we think are genetic that are actually in our mind, like homosexuality. And when I say that to gay people they go nuts.
Q: Because it's contradicted by a mountain of evidence...
Stern: But I am telling you that you can be cured of back pain; you can be cured of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Now, on the issue of homosexuality, I have always thought that homosexuality was genetic, as simple as the fact that you're born with brown eyes. I always thought that. And then I had this Buddha-like revelation that there's a whole list of things that are just distractions in our life, including homosexuality.
Q: Which is ridiculous.
Stern: But why be so closed-minded? Why is it so offensive?
Q: Because this Buddha-like revelation of yours isn't bold new thinking. It's the same ignorant crap people have been tossing out for years.
Stern: Look, I've never had a problem with homosexuality. As far as I am concerned, you can fuck a dead horse. As long as you didn't kill the horse, it's fine. I have no problem with gays in the military. I have no problem with anybody being gay. In fact, if I was gay, I don't even know if I'd want to not be gay. But there is a segment of the gay population that is not happy being gay. All I'm putting forth is that if there is someone who WANTS to change, it's possible.
Q: There are dozens of studies out there, including one last week, that strongly suggest homoseuxality is genetic. But a lot of the people who listen to your show won't make it to the Times Science section. Half of Staten Island is going to think its okay to bash faggots because, after all, Howard says it's a choice.
Stern: I have never, never said anything like that. Besides, violence of any sort is wrong, certainly based on someone's sexual preference. That's a sick message. I have always preached tolerance. I rejoice in the differences of people. Do you think I CHOSE to have back pain? I have no control over it. Back pain and homosexuality are identical. No more, no less.
Q: I assume you're speaking from personal experience.
Stern: (Laughs) No, I'm not gay. But I'm telling you, this is the truth. I don't know how to prove it. Every gay man who has read my book has debated this with me. But what if I'm right? I believe a lot of things are psychological...
(Later:)
...Stern: A couple of years ago, Richard Simmons was finished on television and radio. The thing that was interesting to me as a fan of talk shows - I used to sit and watch The Mike Douglas Show like a mental patient, and Richard Simmons would come on and NO ONE WOULD ASK HIM ABOUT HIS SEXUALITY. Here was a very effeminate man. And everyone was acting like there was nothing sexual in this guy's life, like he was an elf.
Q: That's the nature of TV.
Stern: It's sanitized. What I love about radio is that I can completely break things down. When Richard came on, the first thing I asked him about was his sexuality.
Q: It's always a little surprising that people come back for more.
Stern: Well, Richard's not talking to me anymore...
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