Richard Simmons left the Howard Stern Show studio crying on April 10, 2007, after Stern said Simmons appealed to men and women because he was not “the most macho guy in the world.” Robin Quivers interpreted the remark as calling Simmons “womanly.” Stern followed Simmons to an elevator and apologized; Simmons accepted, but declined to return to the studio.
What happened during the interview?
The Howard Stern Show’s official rundown says Simmons had already grown uncomfortable with questions about his private life and repeatedly called for producer Gary Dell’Abate. Later in the appearance, Stern said Simmons connected with men and women because he was not “the most macho guy in the world.” Quivers said she took that to mean Stern was calling him “womanly”; Stern disputed her interpretation.
Simmons thanked Stern for having him on and left the studio. Stern caught up with him at an elevator and apologized as the doors closed. Simmons accepted the apology but would not return. Stern said he felt awful about how Simmons had left and planned to apologize off air. The rundown also records Quivers’s speculation that the comment may have reminded Simmons of being tormented as a child. That was Quivers’s interpretation, not a confirmed explanation from Simmons.
The exchange was not the only subject of the visit. Simmons also discussed his campaign to restore physical education in public schools as a way to help children with obesity, and said support from Stern’s listeners had helped the effort.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesDid Howard Stern’s comment make Richard Simmons cry?
The show’s rundown places the remark immediately before Simmons left and describes him crying at the elevator. It does not establish precisely what he was feeling or prove that the comment alone caused his reaction. Quivers offered a possible explanation on air, but it remains her interpretation.
Simmons later addressed the broader pattern of becoming emotional on Stern’s program in an interview with Men’s Health. When asked whether tears after appearances were crocodile tears, he replied, “No! Those are real!” He said Stern could ask questions that caught him off guard and described himself as emotional. This was Simmons’s general recollection, not a claim that he cried during every appearance.
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How did Simmons later describe the relationship?
In a retrospective on his own site, Simmons wrote, “I did the show and he was a bit hard on me. But I felt I held my own.” He also recalled meeting Dell’Abate and visiting Dell’Abate’s hospitalized brother after the show. That account offers Simmons’s perspective on his experiences, rather than a complete record of every interaction between him and Stern.
An earlier appearance also complicates any reading of the 2007 incident as the whole story. The show’s archive entry for November 16, 2006 describes tension involving Simmons, Stern and Artie Lange, but says Simmons and Stern hugged goodbye and Simmons said they were friends again.
In a 2024 remembrance, Stern called Simmons a friend and said, “I really did love the guy and certainly what he gave my audience — he gave it his all.” The remembrance counted 64 appearances by Simmons on the show. Simmons himself said in the Men’s Health interview that he had been doing the show for 22 years; that is his recollection, not an independently audited appearance count.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the available accounts can establish
The official show rundown is the clearest source for the broadcast date and the sequence as the show recorded it, though it is the show’s own account. Simmons’s retrospective and Men’s Health interview provide his personal perspective, while Stern’s 2024 remembrance reflects on their relationship later. The available accounts support saying Simmons left the studio and cried at the elevator; they do not support saying he ran out of the building or identifying a definitive psychological cause.
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