HOWARD STERN - STERN FACES MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR LAWSUIT

American shock jock HOWARD STERN is facing a possible $500 million (GBP294 million) lawsuit, for allegedly breaching his contract with US broadcasting giant CBS.

CBS/Infinity chairman LES MOONVES is determined to sue the radio superstar, insisting Stern's failure to disclose the details of his new deal with Sirius Satellite Radio, while still working for Infinity, amounts to a substantial breach.

Speaking on his new show yesterday (27FEB06) Stern said, "I showed them a way to make money, I syndicated the show, I set record high profits for them. I did everything in this world that they never could have accomplished on their own, but me they obsess on. Me they go after.

"So when somebody tells you that it's not personal, it's personal. All hell is breaking loose over there."

A CBS insider tells gossip site PageSix.com, "When you mention the name Howard Stern to Les, his face turns red and his rage becomes uncontrollable."

Stern and Moonves previously endured a volatile working relationship - Stern once branded the chairman: "A snake in the grass and a guy you can't trust. You could just see it with the fake capped teeth and the phony hairdo and everything else."

Stern broadcast his first show for Sirius on 9 January (06).