Howard Stern Slammed by TV Host Over His 'Insane' Office Dress Code For Women: 'Out of Bounds'
Howard Stern has a double standard when it comes to men's and women's office footwear.
Aug. 13 2026, Published 1:45 p.m. ET
Howard Stern reportedly enforces a glaring double standard at his New York offices, where female staffers face a far stricter dress code than their male colleagues, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
While men can reportedly wear whatever footwear they please, women are barred from wearing sneakers and keep dressier backup shoes stashed behind their desks should Stern, 72, or other SiriusXM execs pop up in the office, as a TV host called the ridiculous rule "out of bounds."
Women Are 'Not Allowed' to Wear Sneakers to Work on Howard Stern's Show
Stern reportedly refuses to allow women to wear sneakers to work.
"There is this rule that it doesn’t matter what kind of footwear men wore, but the women are not allowed to wear sneakers at work," an insider claimed to The U.S. Sun about Stern's misogynistic dress code.
A second source backed up the claim, telling the outlet, "I know of people that still like to keep non-sneakers in case certain execs are expected in the offices."
"You know what? I don't have a problem with a workplace imposing those sorts of dress codes, saying no sneakers, no jeans, whatever. But you can't just apply it to one gender. I mean, come on. That is just out of bounds," Sky News Australia host Rita Panahi scoffed when reporting on the story.
Howard Stern Claims His Employees Dresses Like 'Zombies from The Walking Dead'
Video of Stern's PowerPoint presentation about their dressing habits went viral.
Many staffers expected the shoe rule to change during the COVID-19 lockdowns, when Stern began doing this show from his home in the Hamptons, and the well-known germaphobe has continued to do so in the years since.
During that time, dress codes became far more relaxed as many people were forced to work from home rather than come into offices, but as the pandemic's spread got under control, Stern didn't budge on his women's footwear rule.
"Times have changed, but also maybe don’t have different rules for men and women. That’s insane," the insider huffed about the double standard that the ladies on his show have more formal footwear at the ready.
The outlet recalled Stern's viral 2013 PowerPoint presentation to staff, in which he berated them for not dressing to impress.
"I finally get the f------ publicist in here who controls about 10 to 20 acts that we're trying to get up here," the shock jock said while pacing the stage as a slide showing a sharp-dressed man appeared on screen reading "We upgrade our appearance."
"We finally get the artist up here, and they walk into the f------ radio station, and we look like...some people around here look like zombies from The Walking Dead," Stern raged.
Howard Stern Calls Staffers Dressing Habits 'Off-Putting and Scary'
Stern once berated his employees over their wardrobe choices.
"We look like a college radio station. We look like we have homeless people working here," Stern continued while haranguing his staff. "Let me tell you something: it's off-putting and scary. We've got to work on our appearance."
The King of All Media noted that the show was on the air at the time from Monday through Wednesday.
"If you're going to be walking through the halls and you're going to be seeing celebrities, you represent this radio show," he huffed while adding that if the staff looked "gross" in their appearance, "I'm just going to tell you to go the f--- home and go get dressed for work."
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Howard Stern Laid Off More Than Half His Staff
The show no longer needed a large staff after dropping down to one episode per week.
There are far fewer employees for Stern to boss around now, after the media titan laid off more than 50 employees — roughly two-thirds of his staff.
The first wave came in February, just two months after the aging media legend finally renewed his SiriusXM contract.
In mid-July, Stern canned another dozen employees ahead of his plans to cut the show back to one day a week starting in September.
Stern has continued to tape his shows remotely from home for the most part after not returning to his New York City offices full-time after the pandemic.
