Earvin “Magic” Johnson Jr. has enjoyed a long and varied career as an athlete and businessman, and now, ahead of a documentary on his life set for April 22 on Apple TV Plus, he revealed he came close to hitting Howard Stern in 1998.
For those unaware, at the time Johnson was hosting a short-lived talk show dubbed The Magic Hour. Stern mocked the concept repeatedly on his radio show, and said Johnson was a poor host and interviewer. Producers then booked Stern as a guest in an attempt to boost ratings, and, while there, Stern shortly turned the subject of conversation to Johnson’s 1991 HIV diagnosis, and suggested Johnson “had fun” contracting the disease through various intimate encounters with a variety of people.
“You had the life I wanted. 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. Believe me, brother, you did, it sounds like fun to me.”
Johnson told Variety in an article published today he was close to striking Stern on air, and has not spoken to him since. He did not even want to have him on the show, but reflected that the uncomfortable moment made him more discerning of how he is perceived, and from that moment on, he vowed never to put himself, or aspects of who he is as a person, in a similar spot.
“When people look for ratings, this is what happens. 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. I was mad when they booked him. But there’s nothing you can do.”
Stern did not respond to Variety’s request for comment as of this story being filed. Though, in 2019 he did tell Rolling Stone he was crazy in his earlier years, and even went so far as to describe himself at that time as a “selfish prick.”