The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus Says Howard Stern Refuses to Have Him on His Show

The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus claims that Howard Stern refuses to have him on The Howard Stern Show. Reedus reconnected with his former Walking Dead co-star and pal, Jon Bernthal, for Bernthal’s podcast show REAL ONES. The two actors recalled how they used to get up on early mornings in Atlanta and drive together to The Walking Dead set, while listening religiously to Howard Stern. However, that fanboy love was never recipricated by Stern – although Jon Bernthal seems to have a few ideas of why… 

In a clip from REAL ONES, Norman Reedus confirms that when it comes to Howard Stern, “he still won’t have me on his show. I don’t know why!”  

Jon Bernthal doesn’t quite by that answer, arguing that Reedus knows full well that he’s been black-balled because Stern doesn’t like Reedus around his wife, who is apparently a big fan of Reedus. The two actors have a friendly argument about the time they were at some kind of premiere event, and Reedus got seated next to Howard Stern and his wife, actress/model/author/activist Beth Ostrosky Stern. While Bernthal makes it seem like Reedus and Ostrosky hit it off maybe a little too well, Reedus insists that they only bonded over their shared love of cats (the Sterns foster hundreds of cats in their home on Long island every year), and that was it. Nonetheless, Bernthal points out that Stern was clearly bothered by the encounter, and talked about it “for like two hours” on his show. 

All of this has left Norman Reedus crestfallen, as doing Howard Stern’s show is clearly on his career buket list – but Stern clearly doesn’t feel the same. It only got worse, apparently, when Reedus got pushed into doing a promotional drop for Stern’s show, and didn’t give his best effort – something that Stern publicly noted. After that, Howard Sterns was clearly not as hot on The Walking Dead, or Daryl Dixon (Reedus’ character) after that. 

…Meanwhile, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan) has been strolling on up to The Howard Stern Show just fine. 

If nothing else, this is a nice little insight into just how funny the levels of fame can be. Norman Reedus got the biggest breakout sucesss of his career with The Walking Dead – but it’s that same fame that’s now kept him away from particular dream he had as a fan. Maybe there’s a lesson in that for us all…. 

Norman Reedus will be getting his own Daryl Dixon Walking Dead spinoff.