Howard Stern ex-assistant claims hostile work environment, fraudulent NDAs: suit
Howard Stern’s former executive assistant has filed a lawsuit against the radio icon and his wife, Beth Ostrosky Stern, alleging that they fostered a hostile work environment and then distributed “fraudulent” confidentiality agreements to prevent her from speaking about her experience working for the couple.
Leslie Kuhn, 72, the Queens-born radio host she has been married to since late 2008, and Ostrosky Stern, 55, as well as One Twelve, Inc., according to a subpoena obtained by the Daily News on Sunday. and The Howard Stern Production Company, Inc. filed a lawsuit against him in the New York State Supreme Court.
Representatives for Stern and Ostrosky Stern did not immediately respond to The News’ request for comment. Neither appears to have made any public statements regarding the application.
Kuhn said he was fired in February 2026, citing “alleged misconduct of a nature that was detrimental to one’s reputation.” But he believes he was fired for reasons “concocted by Defendants in general and Beth Stern in particular.”
Kuhn said the defendants then tried to “deceive” him by producing “fabrications” and therefore sought to invalidate their non-disclosure agreement between May 2022 and May 2025.
Kuhn says he was never given such an agreement to sign. One of the agreements, which included a typewritten name instead of a signature, was signed three months before he appeared on Sirius XM Radio’s “Howard Stern Show” in September 2022, according to the lawsuit.
Kuhn was also hired by One Twelve around December 2023 as Stern’s executive assistant. He was later hired in May 2024 to help the couple manage their Southampton estate; this included helping Stern’s wife “extensively with in-home cat rescue and care operations.”
All three roles overlapped, and Kuhn insisted that none of the jobs were “conditional on Kuhn signing an employment contract or confidentiality/confidentiality agreement,” which he himself had not entered into.
Last December, One Twelve thanked Kuhn “for his hard work in 2025” and was informed of the raise, with him earning $265,000 in 2026 along with an $80,000 bonus for this year. He was fired around February 2026, allegedly “for some reason.”
Kuhn alleges that a hostile work environment was created and exacerbated by “irresponsible and indefensible animal rescue and feeding operations conducted on site, grossly unregulated and questionable business operations, and accounting practices,” all of which he wants to disclose to “protect his reputation and future employment opportunities.”
A separation agreement granted upon Kuhn’s firing included one-way confidentiality provisions protecting the defendants “as well as Stern’s friends and relatives, as well as Beth Stern’s charities and efforts,” but not Kuhn herself, meaning the defendants could “speak freely about Kuhn with impunity.”
The May 2025 NDA, which also does not prevent the Sterns from talking about Kuhn, prevents the Sterns from discussing a much broader range of parties and information, including his “daily activities and personal habits…use of consumer products, choice of restaurants,” as well as his “preference in entertainment” and “political affiliations.”
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