Razor Magazine's Sleazy Howard Stern "Exclusive"

(Note: AJ has been since been vindicated. The fault was with Razor Magazine, not AJ. I frankly like the guy, after our little contretemps. So, read this piece of history with those facts in mind)

Way out in sleazy la-la land is Razor Magazine. According to their web site, Razor is, "for men who seek quality as a way of life � and in what they read.

"RAZOR is dedicated to capturing the broad spectrum of issues that are important to men and presenting them in an edgy, sophisticated manner with sex appeal and pertinent, thought-provoking journalism.

"RAZOR targets the smart, selective, professional male looking for a magazine that incorporates all aspects of his lifestyle with substance and class.

"Confident, Refined and Provocative � Without Compromising on Intelligence."

Thought provoking journalism? Refined? Quality? Class? Without compromising on intelligence?

Apparently the oily A.J. Benza, he who admits to rarely wearing underwear, cannot be reached by email because all mail bounces, wrote and "exclusive" interview of Howard Stern for their June issue which Howard Stern on air today has denied that the interview ever took place.

Where the fuck are the fact checkers at that sleaze ball operation?

Lloyd Grove writes in the Daily news:

"Did he or didn't he?

"The folks at Razor magazine have been making a big deal about their 'exclusive' Howard Stern interview purportedly conducted by former Daily News gossip A.J. Benza.

"But Stern insists the alleged interview never happened.

"It's part of Razor's June cover story on the blue-tongued radio jock's troubles with the Federal Communications Commission.

"I'm told that Razor's editors got very anxious the other day when Stern went on the air to deny that he ever gave Benza or anyone else an interview.

"'According to MarksFriggin.com, a fan site that summarizes Stern's shows, 'Howard refused [Razor's interview request] and it never happened ... He thinks it's kind of funny that the magazine is putting out a press release saying that they have an exclusive with him when they don't.'

"I hear that the Razor editors' anxiety level increased when E-mails to Benza, who has written for the mag on and off since 2001, were bounced back with the message that the address was invalid."

The Corsair grabs a box of unsalted popcorn and is riveted to the screen.

"'I have a hard time believing that A.J. Benza would make up quotes about somebody as prolific and newsworthy as Howard Stern,' Razor publisher Richard Botto told me. (Ed Note: Richard Botto has since been fingered as the culprit) 'I think it would be career suicide, and I think A.J. knows that.'

"But while Benza told me he didn't make up any quotes for the article, 'I never interviewed Howard. I made some calls to him personally as a friend,' he explained. 'We spent about 30 seconds talking about the FCC, but it wasn't under the guise of an interview. But then the magazine put out a press release about an exclusive interview. It's just stupid. It's ridiculous.'"

"When I relayed Benza's comments to Botto, the publisher wasn't happy.

"'He's clearly flip-flopping his position,' Botto said. 'That wasn't the way he presented it to our editors. It's a shame. I hate to see him take what I think is a terrific piece and turn it into something negative.'

"Benza, for his part, told me: 'They still owe me a check.'"

The Corsair saw the interview, which is just a cut and paste of things stern has said over the air dressed up with pro-Stern rants.

Note to A.J.: Don't look forward to the check, baby.