Magic Johnson says he wanted to 'hit' Howard Stern during a 1998 interview on his talk show
- Magic Johnson said he wanted to "hit" Howard Stern during a 1998 interview.
- Johnson recalled how Stern was booked on his ill-fated talk show, "The Magic Hour," to Variety.
Magic Johnson said he wanted to "hit" Howard Stern during a 1998 interview on his ill-fated talk show, "The Magic Hour," where Stern was a guest.
The former NBA star recently spoke about Stern appearing on his talk show, which launched in 1998 and ran for only three months on the air. "The Magic Hour" was often slammed by critics for Johnson's poor monologue performance and for its low ratings, Variety reported. At the time, Stern was one of Johnson's most vocal critics.
So when Stern was invited to "The Magic Hour" by its producers to gain ratings, the interview went off the rails. The radio personality made a series of comments about Johnson's HIV diagnosis and said Johnson was "trying to talk like the white man," encouraging him to speak "Ebonics."
"I'm Blacker than you are," Stern said later in the interview, referring to the New York City neighborhood he grew up in. "I'm the Blackest Black man you'll ever meet."
Stern later asked Johnson, "What ghetto are you from?" When Johnson replied, "I'm from Michigan," Stern asked: "Is that a Black area?"
During the segment, Stern also made comments about Johnson's health, saying: "At least you had fun getting AIDS."
Johnson corrected Stern during the interview by saying that he had HIV — not AIDS. In 1991, the then-basketball star publicly disclosed his HIV status in a press conference convened by him and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Insider reached out to a rep for Stern, but didn't immediately hear back.
Johnson told Variety recently that he regretted producers booking Stern for his talk show. "So many times, I wanted to say something and hit him at the same time — on air," he added.
"I was mad when they booked him, but there's nothing you can do," Johnson continued. "When people look for ratings, this is what happens."
Johnson said despite the interview, he learned an important lesson through that incident: "I've never put myself — or HIV and AIDS, or my race — in that position again, ever again."
The former NBA star is now starring in a new docuseries, "They Call Me Magic," which premieres on Apple TV+ on April 22.