Nicole Eggert says she still feels the sting of her 1995 Howard Stern interview nearly three decades later.
The “Baywatch” alum, 52, spoke with author Greg Prato for his new oral history “The Great American Nightmare: An Oral History of The Howard Stern Show,” recalling a segment in which Stern criticized her outfit and demanded she wear a bikini on air. Eggert said she felt trapped into going along with the treatment because the show was number one in the ratings, and refusing could have angered the people managing her career.
“I was very programmed to just go in and just let it slide off your back,” Eggert said in the book.
She described the studio as anything but a “safe environment” and said she was not comfortable with some of Stern’s questions. Revisiting the old footage decades later proved painful. “I wish I could just like, reach out and hug that girl,” she said, noting that while she had thick skin, other women might not have been as resilient.
Eggert said she takes pride in one thing: she refused to put on the bikini. Despite the mistreatment, she told Prato she does not regret making the appearance.
Her account lands as Stern, 70, faces renewed scrutiny over workplace culture and his treatment of women during his shock-jock era. The book also features former show personality Chaunce Hayden expressing regret over a 1995 stunt involving the ashes of Debbie Tay, a fan favorite who died of a drug overdose that year.
Hayden said he brought in Tay’s ashes for an on-air memorial, only to watch Stern pull bone fragments from the box and joke about them on camera. “It was terrible,” Hayden said. “I do regret it.”
Debbie’s family later filed an $8 million lawsuit against Hayden, Stern and Infinity Broadcasting. The case settled before trial, though the final amount was never publicly confirmed.
Eggert’s comments add to a growing chorus of reassessment about the show’s treatment of female guests. “Watching old clips of the show and seeing how many women were treated – or more fittingly, mistreated – is also shocking,” she said in the book.
The revelations come at a turbulent moment for Stern’s operation. He has recently laid off employees and scaled back his show schedule, even as reports estimate he makes roughly $8,000 per minute on air. His wife, Beth Stern, has spoken publicly about his move to HBO Max, and former staffers have described a “cultish” environment where employees were warned not to speak to the host at parties.
Stern himself addressed toxic workplace claims last month as he kicked off a new season, while an ex-assistant has dragged him back into court with a hostile work environment lawsuit.
The oral history captures a pivotal era when Stern’s boundary-pushing antics built his empire but left lasting marks on those caught in the crossfire. For Eggert, the memory remains vivid enough that she wishes she could comfort the younger version of herself who walked into that studio.
Stern is preparing to drop to one new show per week as part of his latest schedule changes.