Sarah Silverman made big news on Monday night when she called the “Bernie or Bust” crowd “ridiculous” from the DNC stage in primetime, but for Howard Stern fans her speech was notable for another reason: it was the first time “Baba Booey” was invoked, at least to my knowledge, at a major political convention.
For those not in the know: “Baba Booey” is the nickname of longtime Howard Stern Show producer Gary Dell'Abate, who has (mostly) come to embrace the moniker since he was first anointed with it on July 26, 1990 (backstory here). More broadly, though, it's become a way for Stern Show fans to make their presence known at high-profile events, from professional golf tournaments to network news broadcasts. In short: when you hear “Baba Booey” shouted out, you can be pretty sure there's a Stern fanatic in the general vicinity.
Silverman — who was an ardent Bernie Sanders supporter during the primaries but made it clear she would be casting her vote for presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton “with gusto” in the fall — has not only been a semi-regular guest on Howard Stern but has become known to listeners as one of his biggest celebrity fans, a group that counts Conan O'Brien sidekick Andy Richter, Dixie Chicks frontwoman Natalie Maines and former Good Day LA host Jillian Barberie among its members. Still, it was genuinely surprising and delightful to hear her express her fandom at a political event that's known for being a (more or less) buttoned-up affair. First, here's the clip (“Baba Booey” comes about 25 seconds in):
Needless to say, the shout-out didn't pass by Howard's attention:
“There was a huge moment in Howard Stern Show history last night…Sarah Silverman made a speech at the Democratic National Convention, and she gave a Baba Booey, which is a big deal,” said Stern on Tuesday's show, before adding: “I heard from everybody…this is probably the greatest Baba Booey shout out ever, I think.”
But that wasn't the only DNC milestone reached on account of Silverman. Added Howard later: “She is also the only person to speak at a Democratic convention who has smelled Richard's ass.”
If you're a Stern superfan, I'm going to assume that you get and appreciate that reference. Everyone else: we'll just go ahead and leave it there.