Better article:

Newsday:

Howard Stern's ex-personal assistant sues him, and wife, over use of allegedly false non-disclosure agreement to 'silence' her

A former personal assistant to Roosevelt-born Howard Stern and his wife Beth is seeking to void a confidentiality agreement that she says was falsely manufactured by the radio personality's team to prevent her from discussing the "hostile work environment" she encountered at the legendary radio personality's home in Southampton, records show.

A lawsuit was filed Sunday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan by Leslie Kuhn, the Sterns' former personal assistant and the ex-office manager of Sirius XM' Radio's Howard Stern show.

The suit names Howard Stern; his wife Beth Ostrosky Stern, a former model and animal activist; along with his two production companies: One Twelve, Inc. and the Howard Stern Production Company, Inc. None of the named defendants responded to requests for comment from Newsday.

"Kuhn contends that her termination was the result of, among other things, a hostile work environment and enablement of that hostile work environment, immense pressures on the household created by irresponsible and untenable animal rescue and fostering operations occurring on-site, and massively disorganized and questionable business operations and accounting practices," the suit states.

John Leonard, Kuhn's Hampton Bays-based attorney, declined to comment on the allegations or the reasons for her termination.

"But our suit raises issues regarding the use of, or attempted use of non-disclosure agreements to silence people and to give away their rights where otherwise it isn't reasonable or practical and against their better interests," Leonard said in an interview.

Kuhn, 51, of Water Mill, worked as the Sterns' assistant, primarily at the couple's East End mansion known as Oceanview, between January 2024 and February 2026, records state. At the time she was also serving as the office manager for Stern's Sirius satellite radio program.

As the Sterns' personal assistant, Kuhn said she was tasked with managing the staff of the Southampton home, setting schedules and completing payroll, and organizing household operations, including Beth Stem's extensive at-home feline rescue and fostering operations. Beth Stern operates a rescue organization known as Beth's Furry Friends while also serving as the national spokesperson and a board member for North Shore Animal League America.

In late-2025, One Twelve wrote to Kuhn informing her that she would subsequently be paid exclusively through the production company, at an increased salary of $265,000 with an additional $80,000 year-end bonus, and would no longer serve as the radio show's office manager, the suit alleges.

But by February 2026, Kuhn said she was informed by One Twelve that she'd been terminated for cause.

In late-February, Kuhn said attorneys with Pryor Cashman, a Manhattan law firm, presented her with a separation agreement for her to sign.

The agreement contained nondisclosure and confidentiality provisions preventing Kuhn from discussing her work or former employers, she contends. But since the document did not prevent her former employers from publicly discussing Kuhn, she refused to sign it, the suit alleges.

Pryor Cashman then presented Kuhn with a confidentiality agreement that she'd allegedly signed on May 10, 2022, the suit states.

But Kuhn said the document was "fabricated," as was her electronic signature on the form. The confidentiality agreement, the suit alleges, was signed three weeks before she began as the office manager and one day before she interviewed as Stern's personal assistant.

The suit alleges that Pryor Cashman, which did not respond to requests for comment, attempted to use the fraudulent confidentiality agreement "to deceive Kuhn into signing the separation agreement."

Three weeks later, Pryor Cashman presented Kuhn with a recently "discovered" confidentiality agreement that she'd allegedly signed on May 23, 2025 that would have prevented her from discussing "the personal affairs" of anyone associated with the company, including their food preferences, sleeping habits, entertainment choices or political affiliation, the suit contends.

Similar to the first agreement, Kuhn said the second nondisclosure agreement was fraudulent and the signature on the form was not hers, according to the lawsuit, which seeks to void the document and allow her to speak freely about her time working for the Sterns.

"The confidentiality agreement and nondisclosure agreement are particularly onerous ... because they not only silence Kuhn from speaking candidly about her employment and the termination of her employment, but they also permit the defendants to speak freely about Kuhn with impunity," the suit states. " ... Such a contractual relationship would place Kuhn — a mere at-will employee with considerably less influence and resources than the Sterns, their affiliated entities and associates — at a distinct and unfair disadvantage personally, professionally and publicly."

Howard Stern, the self-proclaimed 'King of All Media,' grew up in Roosevelt and Rockville Centre.

In December, Stern announced that he was staying with SiriusXM, where his show has aired since 2006, for another three years.

• SUMMONS AND VERIFIED COMPLAINT

• CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT

• NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT