John Melendez, best known as Howard Stern's sidekick, Stuttering John, is suing SiriusXM for airing old recordings of him to two of its channels dedicated to Stern without his permission.
In a complaint filed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court, Melendez stated that Sirius was violating his right to publicity, the New York Post reported. He is seeking unspecified damages for Sirius exploiting his name, likeness, and voice to attract more listeners and advertisers.
Melendez exited Stern's radio show in 2004. He went on to become an announcer for "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" and now hosts "The Stuttering John Podcast," a show which he claims Sirius is threatening to remove from its Pandora streaming service in response to his recent cease-and-desist letter.
Melendez worked alongside Stern for 15 years. During that time, he claims to have been featured in over 13,000 hours of the show. Melendez added that it was "well-known" to Sirius that his fans loved his encounters with prominent names such as Billy Crystal, Ringo Starr, and the Dalai Lama.
Sirius has not released an official comment and neither has Melendez's lawyer.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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