Howard Stern is proud to be "awake."
During Monday's episode of The Howard Stern Show, the SiriusXM host responded to a YouTube personality who had criticized him for being "woke." Stern told listeners that he sees the term as a "compliment."
“I kind of take that as a compliment, that I’m ‘woke,’” he said. “To me, the opposite of woke is being asleep. And if woke means I can’t get behind [former President Trump], which is what I think it means, or that I support people who want to be transgender, or I’m for the vaccine — dude, call me woke as you f‑‑‑ing want."
He added: “I’m not for stupidity."
Despite the term being used as an insult in conservative circles, a March poll from USA Today/Ipsos found that the majority of Americans view the term "woke" positively, with 56 percent understanding its meaning as "to be informed, educated on, and aware of social injustices.”
The radio host previously referred to former president Donald Trump as a friend, and has interviewed him for his show in the past. Throughout his time in office, Stern increasingly distanced himself from the commander-in-chief.
Howard Stern on Trump Interviews
“I want to read legitimate news sources. Here’s how woke I am: I believe the election was not rigged,” he said, referencing Trump's unfounded allegations of fraud during the 2020 presidential elections.
Stern also called out the wave of book bans sweeping Republican states. Conservatives have primarily targeted material with LGBTQ+ or racial themes, objecting to their inclusion in schools and local libraries.
“These guys who I see on the internet who say they’re not woke, but they seem to be really angry, super against gay people — especially transgender,” Stern continued. “Am I for kids being able to read about anything in school? Yeah, I am. I don’t give a s‑‑‑ what kids read."
He added: “I like being woke, if that’s what woke means. So, I guess somewhere the rap is I used to be good, but now I’m woke. I think I always was awake.”
