Howard Stern Called the Novig Ad 'Great.' His Fans Said 'I'm Done.'
Stern dismissed the outrage over Sydney Sweeney's Novig betting spot in one line. His listeners turned the backlash on him instead ... and brought his struggling new format along for the ride.
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Howard Stern stepped into the Novig ad controversy this week and made himself the story. Dismissing the outrage over Sydney Sweeney's nude sports-betting spot, Stern asked on air: "Who the f*** is bothered by that?" He called the ad "great." His listeners had a different word for it.
The Novig ad launched September 9. It shows Sweeney in a series of sports-themed vignettes, nude, with props positioned to cover her. Female athletes pushed back fast. Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus asked publicly how the industry still accepts "monetising a woman's body and sexualising women's sport." Gymnast Gracie Kramer posted photos of herself competing with the caption: "This is what a woman in sports looks like." Yahoo Entertainment confirmed the athlete pushback predated Stern's remarks.
Stern framed the athlete objections as misplaced. "Her going around half-naked will ruin sports," he said, mimicking the critics. "No, maybe you betting on sports will ruin sports." Co-host Robin Quivers noted the criticism came specifically from female athletes. Stern did not change his view.
His listeners had notes
The Blast compiled the fan response. One longtime listener wrote: "Howard, I've loved you for a long time, but you're dropping the ball on this one, baby." A harder response: "If they gave me Sirius for Free, I would not listen! I'm DONE!!!" A third commenter went to the point: "Women are tired of seeing women sell their sexuality for money." The fans were not defending the athletes or the ad. They were ending the relationship.
The reaction lands differently in the context of what Stern's show has become. SiriusXM restructured the program to air live just once a week on Mondays, with a 90-minute edited version on HBO Max on Thursdays. The revamp followed layoffs affecting more than 50 staff members, and Howard 101 was reassigned to Andy Cohen's Radio Andy. Longtime listeners had been calling the condensed format "unwatchable" before the ad debate started.
The ad as a Rorschach test
This is the pattern the Novig campaign keeps producing. Everyone who steps into it ends up revealing something about themselves. The shock jock who built a career on provocation cannot read why THIS particular provocation is landing wrong. His listeners, already unsettled by the new format, found the Sweeney defense to be the thing they'd been waiting to react to. The ad did not cause any of this. It exposed it. Our earlier read on this site: the product in the Novig campaign was always Sweeney, not sports betting. That same mechanism is running here. Stern defended the surface. His audience was reacting to the subtext.
Novig gets another free news cycle either way. A month into the campaign, every celebrity who enters the debate, pro or con, extends its reach without paying for placement. Howard Stern defending it. Fans slamming him for it. This piece. The earned-media engine runs on all of it.
Ad Watch News is an independent commentary site. No affiliation with Sydney Sweeney, Novig, Howard Stern, SiriusXM, or any party named here. This piece draws on published sources listed below.
At a glance
- Stern on air
- "Who the f*** is bothered by that?" and "This is great." He dismissed critics by saying "maybe you betting on sports will ruin sports." (The Blast, Sept 29, 2026)
- Fan response
- Listeners wrote: "I'm DONE!!!" and "you're dropping the ball on this one, baby." Another: "Women are tired of seeing women sell their sexuality for money." (The Blast, Sept 29, 2026)
- Novig ad basics
- Launched September 9, 2026. Sydney Sweeney appears nude with sports props covering her, promoting prediction market app Novig. Sweeney holds equity in the company.
- Athletes who objected
- Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus and gymnast Gracie Kramer both made public statements criticizing the campaign for sexualizing women in sports.
- Stern show changes
- SiriusXM condensed the show to one live Monday broadcast plus a 90-minute HBO Max version Thursdays, following layoffs of 50+ staff. Howard 101 reassigned to Andy Cohen.
Sources & further reading
- The Blast: Howard Stern's Defense of Sydney Sweeney's Ad Backfires As Fans Slam The Shock Jock (Sept 29, 2026)
- Yahoo Entertainment: Howard Stern's Defense of Sydney Sweeney's Ad Backfires As Fans Slam The Shock Jock (Sept 29, 2026)
- Wikimedia Commons: Sydney Sweeney at TIFF 2025, photo by JoshPopov (CC BY 4.0)
