*Magic Johnson admits he wanted to physically assault shock jock Howard Stern during their disastrous 1998 interview.
“So many times, I wanted to say something and hit [Stern] at the same time — on air,” Johnson recalled in a Variety cover story. He added, “I was mad when they booked him. But there’s nothing you can do. When people look for ratings, this is what happens.”
The interview went down on Johnson’s former talk show “The Magic Hour,” during which Stern made several racist comments and sexist remarks to bandleader Sheila E., and told Johnson, “At least you had fun getting AIDS.”
As reported by Entertainment Weekly, Stern pressed Johnson for details about his sex life, and when the ex-NBA star clarified that he had HIV, not AIDS — and that “nobody has fun” contracting the potentially deadly disease, Stern replied, “Believe me, brother, you did. It sounds like fun to me.”
Stern went on to offer Johnson some unsolicited advice. Check out the Twitter clip below of the cringe-worthy moment.
READ MORE: Apple TV+ Drops Trailer for Magic Johnson Doc ‘They Call Me Magic’
Magic Johnson regrets he didn’t hit Howard Stern during an interview.
Will Smith has successfully emboldened black people, even celebrities, to use violence in response to words.
pic.twitter.com/LUR5McUL93— Courtly Orangutan???? (@HamiltonHammi) April 5, 2022
In the clip above, Stern tells Johnson, “The thing you need to work on, in my estimation, is that you’ve gotta stop trying to talk like the white man… Everybody’s anti-Ebonics. I say let it fly! What you need to do, my brotha, is to really get down with it. You talk Ebonics all you want.” He added, “Listen, you’re a Black man. I grew up in a Black neighborhood. I’m Blacker than you are, trust me. I’m the Blackest Black man you’ll ever meet.”
Stern then gave his impression of a Black person.
“You had the life I wanted,” Stern said, referring to Johnson’s sexual history. “These were white chicks? Black chicks? What do we got? What did you prefer? You would have sex with everybody? At least you had fun getting AIDS.”
The two men allegedly haven’t spoken since.
Recalling the interview with Variety, Johnson said, “It is what it is. I learned a lot from that. I’ve never put myself — or HIV and AIDS, or my race — in that position again, ever again.”
Watch Johnson’s full interview with Stern below.
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