Howard Stern Sued for Airing Woman’s IRS Conversation

Woman says she was barraged by harassing phone calls and texts after her phone number was broadcast

The King of All Media has found himself slapped with a potentially taxing lawsuit.

Howard Stern is being sued by a woman who claims that her personal and tax information were broadcast on Stern’s show.

In her suit, filed Monday in federal court in Massachusetts, Judith Barrigas claims that she was on the phone with the IRS service center in May 2015, talking through the potential misapplication of her tax refund, when Jimmy Forsythe, the IRS agent she was on the phone with, called Stern’s SiriusXM show on another line during their conversation.

“While on the phone with Agent Forsythe, Mrs. Barrigas suddenly began to receive a barrage of text messages and phone calls from unknown callers/individuals” informing her that her personal information and phone number were being aired on Stern’s show, the lawsuit says.

“Mr. Stern and The Stern Show were fully aware that they were broadcasting and disseminating Mrs. Barrigas’ tax and personal information, yet failed to take any action to stop the broadcast,” the complaint reads. “Mr. Stern and The Stern Show joked about the publication and broadcast of Mrs. Barrigas’ tax and personal information and conversation with the IRS’s Agent Forsythe and used the broadcast and the humiliation of Mrs. Barrigas as a source of amusement for their listeners.”

Barrigas claims that, even now, the phone conversation can be accessed on the internet, and she’s received many phone calls and texts that  “were harassing in nature and continued for many days, leaving Mrs. Barrigas in a frantic, high-anxiety state.”

The complaint also claims that Barrigas, who’s also suing the United States of America, “has difficulty sleeping and eating since the incident, and has sought treatment as a result.” Barrigas further alleges that her search for employment has been negatively impacted by the incident.

TheWrap has reached out to a spokeswoman for Stern for comment on the suit.

Alleging negligence and other counts, the suit is seeking unspecified damages.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.

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