1. The April 2026 lawsuit filed by Leslie Kuhn against Howard Stern, 72, and his wife Beth Stern, 54, alleging a hostile work environment
2. Kuhn’s background (hired in 2022 as office manager, promoted to executive assistant in 2024, moved to Southampton mansion in May 2024)
3. Her termination in February 2026 after receiving a raise and bonus offer in December 2025
4. The core dispute over allegedly fraudulent NDAs
5. Stern’s May 2026 motion to dismiss, calling the lawsuit a “shakedown”
6. The latest development: the July 24 email from Stern’s attorney Andrew Mark Goldsmith calling Kuhn’s claims “frivolous,” filed as an exhibit on July 26
Howard Stern’s lawyer, Andrew Mark Goldsmith, fired back at his former executive assistant Leslie Kuhn’s attempts to void her NDA in a July 24 email addressed to opposing counsel John Joseph Leonard, which was filed as an exhibit with the New York County Clerk on Sunday, July 26.
Goldsmith called Leslie Kuhn’s hostile work environment lawsuit a baseless effort to extract money and said her claims regarding her non-disclosure agreement were “frivolous.”
In the July 24 email, Goldsmith criticized Kuhn’s plan to file a second amended complaint alleging that nondisclosure agreements signed during her employment with Howard and Beth, 54, had been “fabricated.”
“Mr. Stern has already unequivocally, unconditionally and irrevocably waived his right to enforce that agreement against Ms. Kuhn in publicly filed court documents,” Goldsmith argued. “To eliminate any possible doubt (and there should be none), Mr. Stern and each of the other defendants hereby reiterate that they unconditionally and irrevocably waive any and all rights to enforce that agreement against Ms. Kuhn, now or at any time in the future.”
“Given these binding waivers, the proposed second amended complaint is both futile and frivolous,” Goldsmith concluded. “Filing a motion for leave to amend would be vexatious, wasteful and a needless drain on judicial and party resources.”
The attorney also threatened legal action.
Howard’s attorney warned the opposing counsel that they “reserve the right to seek sanction” if they proceeded with the complaint.
Kuhn contends she was “never presented with” and “never signed” the agreement. Proposed amendments filed by her attorney also allege the document was “fabricated” and that the “wet signature on the September 2022 Confidentiality Agreement differs markedly from known specimens of Plaintiffs signature,” arguing the agreement is “void ab initio,” meaning it should be treated as having never legally existed.
This latest exchange escalates months of fighting.
Kuhn was hired by SiriusXM in 2022 as an office manager for The Howard Stern Show. The host’s production company, One Twelve, later added her to its payroll as Stern’s executive assistant. Earlier this year, she was terminated for cause shortly after she was given a raise to $265,000.
Kuhn says she was made the shock jock’s executive assistant the following year, and relocated to Southampton, New York, in 2024 – at the pair’s request – to provide “assistance with such things as managing the staff of the mansion, setting staffing schedules, completing staff payroll and managing general household operations, including Beth Stern’s extensive at-home feline rescue and fostering operations.”
Kuhn’s complaint says she was given a raise in December 2025 from $100,000 to $265,000, plus an $80,000 bonus, but that she was fired in February 2026 for “alleged misconduct.” But while the complaint does not provide details of the purported wrongdoing, it says Kuhn “denies in whole and in part the reasoning given to her,” calling it “manufactured by the Defendants in general and Beth Stern in particular.”
She says her firing was actually a result of immense pressure caused by an animal foster group operated by Stern’s wife. She accuses the SiriusXM host of fostering a hostile work environment, which was allegedly created by an “irresponsible and untenable” animal rescue organization run by Stern’s wife.
Stern fired back with a motion to dismiss.
Stern filed to dismiss former assistant Leslie Kuhn’s lawsuit, calling it a “shakedown” and “transparent sham” according to court docs obtained by multiple outlets.
In his motion, Stern claims Kuhn is after a “hush-money payment,” saying in the motion “The reason Kuhn filed this lawsuit was to pressure the Stern Parties into making an outlandish payment to make her go away.”
Stern’s attorney Ilene Farkas said, “We are not going to play this out in public,” adding that the host is entitled to enforce nondisclosure agreements signed by employees who have access to his private life.
Kuhn has stood firm on her allegations throughout the dispute.
Kuhn’s attorney said to Entertainment Weekly that her legal team stands in “vigorous opposition” to Stern’s filing and that it is not “a threat to Ms. Kuhn’s claims, factually or legally.”
Kuhn also sought to have the aforementioned nondisclosure agreement declared unenforceable, with her lawyer previously telling Page Six that the alleged NDA was an attempt to “muzzle” the former assistant.
In the viral moment that started this legal fight, Kuhn initially approached Stern and his production company over concerns about her employment conditions while living and working at their 20,000-square-foot Southampton mansion.
While negotiating her exit, Kuhn claims she was presented with an allegedly fraudulent confidentiality agreement she was told she signed last year. The sweeping document covers the personal affairs of anyone involved with One Twelve, including Stern’s family and friends, plus the host’s daily activities, personal habits and political affiliations, among other things.
Central to the case are two confidentiality-related agreements that Kuhn claims she never signed.
Kuhn is seeking $2.5 million in damages along with a court order voiding confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements tied to her employment.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Stern’s legal team characterizes the lawsuit as a “shakedown,” alleging Kuhn attempted to secure a hush-money payment before filing the case.
The case continues in New York state court.