Ever since Piers Morgan quit the 'America's Got Talent' judging panel rumors have swirled about his possible replacement, and one name that keeps coming up is shock jock Howard Stern. He recently addressed the rumors and reiterated that he's a huge fan of the show, but wouldn't comment on whether he was involved in ongoing negotiations with NBC.
This week the 'New York Post' published a report alleging that Stern's agreed to join the show if certain conditions are met. Such as paying him a whopping $20 million and moving the show from Los Angeles to New York. The 'Post' quotes a source close to the show as saying that 'AGT' boss Simon Cowell is "hellbent" in landing Stern, and that "The talk on the production is that it's practically a done deal."
For his part, Cowell told 'Access Hollywood' that he's a fan of Stern but that nothing's been signed: "I like him. There's a lot of people who make decisions on this stuff. Money's got to work, schedules [have] got to work. There might be a few twists and turns still."
Cowell's an old pro at refusing to be drawn into giving leading answers, and when asked about Stern's alleged huge salary demands he said "I'm sure he does [want $20 million]. Who doesn't? That's not up to me. That's up to [NBC]. I don't write the checks, baby."
He also considered the question of whether 'America's Got Talent' would move production to New York in order to accommodate Stern's commitments to his radio show. "If it's the right thing to do, yeah. I like change. Whatever's right for the show, we'll do."
Stern previously blasted the judges' choices on 'AGT,' saying "If I was a judge on that there, there would be no nonsense whatsoever ... If I was on there, the guy who won last year, whose name I can't even remember [Landau Eugene Murphy Jr.], he would never have won."
Echoing those sentiments, Cowell said "The important thing this year is we've got to find more stars on the show, like we found with [Season 2 'AGT' winner] Terry Fator. I want someone who's going to have a big, big career. They're all going to be under pressure this year to find us stars. That's why you get paid to do the job."
With fellow 'AGT' judge Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel rumored to keen to stay in Losa Angeles, it's possible that Stern could commute to the West Coast for a part-time only gig as judge. Stay tuned for updates.
