Howard Stern did not hold back his feelings about Novak Djokovic during Tuesday’s Howard Stern Show on SiriusXM. “That f-cknut, Djokovic,” said Howard, 68, on Jan. 11. “The joker, I call him the joker. What a f-cking a–hole.” Novak, 34, has refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and Australian authorities detained him when he flew into the country on Jan. 5, ahead of the Australian Open. Australian national law requires people to be vaccinated against COVID before entering, and after a legal back-and-forth, Novick was allowed to stay – for now.
Howard Stern goes off on “f**knut” Novak Djokovic: “Throw him right the f**k out of tennis.” pic.twitter.com/9VbE9Zw0Be
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) January 11, 2022
This didn’t sit well with Howard. “The first I’ve heard of this guy is that he doesn’t wanna get his vaccine, and he’s running around, nobody’s [clear what his status is], they should throw him right the fuck out of tennis. That’s it. Goodbye,” he said. Howard’s co-host, Robin Quivers, brought up how Novak and his wife came down with COVID, which didn’t calm Howard down. “He’s a douchebag. Douche. He’s a f-ckwit,” said Stern.
“He doesn’t care about anyone else,” continued Howard. “His statement was, ‘Getting vaccinated is a private decision and it shouldn’t be mandated.’ Well, stay away from other people. That’s like saying smoking is a private decision. Well, that’s true. But don’t smoke in my face, f-cknut. What a dummy. Just a big dumb tennis player.”
Though he was one of the “handful” of people granted a medical exemption to Australian law, Djokovic was detained when he arrived at the Australian border, and his visa was canceled. A judge ruled that the tennis star was treated unfairly, and ordered his release from an immigration detention center, per The New York Times. “I am pleased and grateful that the judge overturned my visa cancellation,” he posted on Instagram afterward. “Despite all that has happened in the past week, I want to stay and to try to compete at the Australian Open. I remain focused on that.”
Djokovic’s stance on vaccines isn’t a secret. “Personally, I am opposed to vaccination, and I wouldn’t want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel,” he said during a Facebook Live session, per Newsweek. “But if it becomes compulsory, what will happen? I will have to make a decision. I have my own thoughts about the matter and whether those thoughts will change at some point, I don’t know.”