Howard Stern dishes on being JFK Jr.'s cover model: 'One of the worst covers I ever did'

Like millions of pop-culture-obsessed Americans, Howard Stern is bingeing FX’s “Love Story” and soaking up the nostalgia of ’90s-era New York, but dissimilar astir of America, the vigor big was buddies with the series’ real-life stars, and adjacent graced the screen of JFK Jr.’s George magazine.

“I had done the screen for George magazine,” Stern said connected his eponymous SiriusXM vigor amusement Monday. “So I knew John Kennedy Jr., and helium really showed up to the shoot. It’s 1 of the worst covers I ever did. And I’ve done a batch of atrocious ones.”

John F. Kennedy Jr. launched George mag alongside his partner, Michael J. Berman, successful September 1995. With the tagline “Not Just Politics arsenic Usual,” the mag joined popular civilization and authorities successful an unprecedented mode and aimed to flip the publication connected mainstream governmental discourse. The covers were legendary successful their ain close and featured supermodels, stone stars, Oscar winners and enactment movie stars dressed up arsenic the nation’s archetypal president.

And, of course, vigor jokester and provocateur Stern.

“They convinced maine to beryllium chopping down a cherry histrion with a chainsaw, dressed up successful assemblage garb, dressed up, like, I conjecture I was expected to beryllium George Washington, but George Washington didn’t deterioration the s— I was wearing,” helium continued.

“It was 100 years ago, and I retrieve I wasn’t doing a batch of mag covers by choice,” Stern said.

When John Kennedy Jr., whom Stern described arsenic “literally American royalty and the nicest feline successful the world,” asked him to airs for the screen of the April/May 1996 issue, themed “The Virtue Issue,” Stern told his agent, “Of people I’ll bash it.”

“I went down there, and they were like, ‘It’s George magazine. We person a taxable cover. You can’t beryllium successful your regular clothes. We privation you to be, like, George Washington,” helium continued. “They indispensable person caught maine connected the close day, due to the fact that I was incredibly amenable. Normally, I would person gone, ‘I’m not wearing this s—.’”

Stern said helium got the afloat supermodel treatment. “You cognize what John and the lensman did, that happening that they bash to supermodels, ‘Gorgeous! You look great! Oh, man, this is the top cover. This is our champion cover!’ They’re yelling portion the guy’s clicking away, and I’m posing similar I’m Cindy Crawford, similar I’m 1 of the Hadid sisters,” helium continues. “I’m lasting determination reasoning I look handsome with my chainsaw and Louis the 14th [outfit.]”

After Stern went connected dragging everything from the “pilgrim shoes” to the “poofy shirt” helium wore for the shoot, helium revealed that helium really knew Carolyn Bessette Kennedy arsenic well, though helium was a spot cagey astir however precisely helium knew her.

“She was precise lovely,” helium said. “She was a truly bully woman. I don’t privation to spell into however I knew her, but I knew her.”

When Stern’s co-host, Robin Quivers, pushed him connected wherefore helium couldn’t divulge however helium knew the erstwhile Calvin Klein publicist, helium said, “I conscionable cognize capable to support my rima unopen astir that. Some worldly you bash person to support private. But anyway, I knew her. “

According to Disney, “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette” is FX’s most-watched constricted bid ever connected Hulu and Disney+, with reports that the archetypal 5 episodes person been streamed much than 25 cardinal hours since the Ryan Murphy bid premiered successful February.

The show, starring newcomer Paul Anthony Kelly arsenic Kennedy and Sarah Pidgeon arsenic Bessette, volition aerial its finale Thursday.