Porn jock Howard Stern reportedly has settled a lawsuit claiming he desecrated a stripper's cremated remains on the air. The woman's siblings sued Humble Howard in 1996, but New York media reported over the weekend that the family and the radio star had settled for an as-yet-undisclosed amount.
The stripper was Deborah Catherine Roach, a.k.a. Debbie Tay. Stern and cast had examined and kidded about a portion of her ashes in a 1995 show, after a friend of the stripper brought them to the show. Stern argued in the case that the dead woman had been a devoted fan of the show and the idea behind the gag was an offbeat tribute to her.
The gag apparently began when co-host Robin Quivers told Stern, "AIDS will be able to survive anything," at which point Stern cracked, "All right, give me rubber gloves, 'cause I want to handle Debbie."
The suit from Roach's sister and brother, Melissa Driscol and Jeff Roach, sought $8 million in damages from both Stern and Infinity Broadcasting, as well as from a friend of Roach, Chaunce Hayden, who brought the ashes to the show. The family claimed Driscol turned over some of Roach's remains to Hayden when he asked for them, "with the understanding and belief that... Hayden would respectfully preserve and honor" them, according to court papers.
Stern's most recent notable achievement was declining to accept an achievement award at the AVN Adult Video Awards in January, sending in his stead show personality Beetlejuice to accept the honor.
