Howard Stern Wins Court Case After Controversial Broadcast

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Howard Stern Walks Away From Court Victorious

A little lawsuit ain’t nothing for the radio gawd Howard Stern.

In 2017, Judith Barrigas filed a lawsuit against the infamous host after her private phone call with an IRS agent was broadcasted live on an episode of the Howard Stern Show. The woman claimed that the incident was a complete invasion of her privacy, which led to her suing both Stern and the U.S. government for both negligence and the unlawful disclosure of tax information.

But according to The Hollywood Reporter, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled in favor of the IRS and Stern on Friday, explaining that the broadcasted phone conversation was not “sufficiently personal or intimate in nature.”

This whole situation happened on May 19, 2015. IRS agent Jimmy Forsythe called into the Howard Stern Show, and after the show’s producers put him on hold, the agent returned to his phone conversation with Barrigas, and those two continued their chatter about her tax info. When the producers took Forsythe off hold, his call with Barrigas was somehow picked up on air.

Personal information including the woman’s phone number was broadcast on air which she claims resulted in severe emotional harm and resulted in anxiety, the loss of sleep and appetite, as well as lost wages. Still, Howard and the IRS came out victorious in this lawsuit.