Judge dismisses Howard Stern ex-assistant's lawsuit over NDA claims

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Leslie Kuhn, former executive assistant to Howard Stern and his wife Beth Stern, ruling against her claims that the couple's production company forged non-disclosure agreements with her name.

According to court documents obtained by multiple outlets, the judge rejected Kuhn's assertion that her work email had been hacked and that the non-disclosure agreement was electronically signed without her consent in May 2025. The court pointed to an email sent from Kuhn's account that read "Signed NDA attached," along with the agreement bearing her electronic signature. The judge characterized her hacking theory as a "bald assertion."

Kuhn had also argued she received no consideration in exchange for signing the agreements. The judge noted, however, that she retained her position for nine months following the May 2025 agreement, earned more than $192,000 in salary, and was awarded an $80,000 bonus.

Kuhn initially filed suit in April 2026, naming Howard Stern, Beth Stern, and their companies as defendants. She sought at least $2.5 million in damages and asked the court to void confidentiality agreements dated 2022 and 2025. In her complaint, Kuhn alleged the couple created a hostile work environment during her employment as an executive assistant at their Southampton, New York mansion.

Kuhn began working for the Sterns in 2022 as an office manager for SiriusXM's "The Howard Stern Show" before being promoted to executive assistant in January 2024. By May 2024, she moved into the couple's 20,000-square-foot residence. Her responsibilities included managing household staff, overseeing payroll and scheduling, and assisting with the day-to-day operations of Beth's Furry Friends, an at-home feline rescue and fostering nonprofit.

Kuhn was terminated in February 2026. In her lawsuit, she claimed the firing resulted from immense pressures created by Beth's animal rescue operations and what she characterized as "massively disorganized and questionable business operations."

Howard Stern responded to the lawsuit in May 2026, filing a motion to dismiss and calling it a "shakedown" and "transparent sham." His legal team argued that Kuhn filed the suit to pressure the Sterns into making an "outlandish payment" to settle the matter. Stern's attorney stated that the couple was "entitled to enforce non-disclosure agreements signed by employees who enter their home and their private life."

In late July, Stern's lawyer Andrew Mark Goldsmith sent a private email to Kuhn's attorney characterizing her allegations as "frivolous" and her claims that NDAs were "fabricated" as unfounded. The email was dated July 24, 2026, and was later submitted as an exhibit in court filings.

With the judge's dismissal of Kuhn's lawsuit, the non-disclosure agreements remain enforceable.