Arsenio Hall Says Howard Stern 'Really Hated' Him for Years: 'I Hope Arsenio Dies'

Arsenio Hall looked back at his feud with Howard Stern

NEED TO KNOW

• Hall said that Stern "really hated him" and that it ultimately hurt the ratings for The Arsenio Hall Show

• Hall appeared on Stern's talk show in 2021

Arsenio Hall is looking back at his talk show and what role it played in late-night wars.

Hall, 70, is releasinga memoir titledArseniothis week, and he opened up about it in an interview withThe New York Times,published on March 30.The Arsenio Hall Showran in syndication from 1989 to 1994 and became a hit in major markets.

The Timesnoted that Hall's show often "leaned into controversy," including tellingEntertainment Weeklythat he would "kick [Jay] Leno's ass."

"There were times when Jay thought I didn't work as hard as he did. And he criticized my monologue," Hall explained. "And somebody got that to me. We definitely battled." Years later, Hall appeared onThe Jay Leno Show, and the pair have toured together.

The interviewer also noted that Hall appeared onThe Howard Stern Showand noted, "That surprised me, because maybe your ugliest feud was with him."

Hall explained, "When Magic Johnson contracted H.I.V. and Howard said, 'I hope Arsenio dies,' that's when I realized it wasn't joking around. He really hated me." Hall was friends with Johnson, who announced he had contracted H.I.V. in 1991, and frequently appeared on this show.

In an episode ofThe Tonight Showin 1992, Stern, 72, called Hall a "moron" who "couldn't even do stand-up comedy." He toldEntertainment Weeklyin 1993, "Arsenio has no talent. Arsenio's talent is kissing ass. I can't watch those interviews. I cannot take the ass sucking that goes on on a nightly basis."

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"I'll be honest: It hurt the business a lot. Howard has die-hard fans who do anything he says. Howard can hurt your numbers," Hall said. "My biggest struggle was not against other talk show hosts. It was against an angry Howard."

The Timesasked why he appeared on the show in 2021. "I have pretty thick skin," Hall said. "I heard a therapist use a word called 'weathering' once. When you're Black, between the racism and hate that you experience, there's a weathering that takes place. You build up a callus."

During his appearance onThe Howard Stern Show,Hall said that he was "the fault in that conflict" with Leno, 75. "There was a magazine that asked me about the competition with Letterman and Jay and with Jay I said, 'I know Jay very well and it's like the Lakers and the Clippers. The Clippers lose, but they don't try to lose, they try to win — and I'm going to try and kick his ass,' " Hall said. "Of course, they put a cover out saying I'm going to kick his ass."

While Hall and Stern did not address their conflict directly,Stern was very complimentaryof Hall's TV series. "Going back and observing your talk show, there's some great stuff to go back there and look at," he said. He praised especially appearances by Michael Jackson, Prince and Bill Clinton (with his saxophone) on the show. "You were delivering the f---ing goods," he said, but noted that there was a perception he wasn't doing enough. Hall said that when Johnny Carson leftThe Tonight Showin 1992, the network wanted him to inherit that audience and lean more "conservative."

In 2020, Stern reflected on his old shows and behavior. "I'll be the first to admit. I won't go back and watch those old shows; it's like, 'Who is that guy?' But that was my shtick, that's what I did and I own it," he said in part. ". . . I came to realize in therapy, if I'm going to be with my kids and have a successful marriage, I can't be insane, completely, 24 hours a day. I have to figure out a better way to communicate. So I evolved and changed."

In his interview withThe Times, Hall noted that there is no fighting among late night hosts anymore. "We're in a weird time where the hosts all came together to go against late night's arch nemesis:Donald Trump. It's like Trump kind of galvanized late night. We fought each other for numbers. Now they're all together for a common cause. It's very weird," he said.

Arseniois available at bookstores everywhere beginning Tuesday, March 31.

Read the original article onPeople

byAlex Forten

in

March 31, 2026

Arsenio Hall Says Howard Stern 'Really Hated' Him for Years: 'I Hope Arsenio Dies'

Arsenio Hall looked back at his feud with Howard Stern NEED TO KNOW Hall said that Stern "really hated hi...

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Jon Stewart calls Donald Trump 'nuclear-armed man baby' amid Iran war

Jon Stewartisn't letting up on his war of words withPresident Donald Trump.

Thelate-night host, who's previously beencritical of the Trump administration's rolein the United States'growing war with Iran, doubled down on his stance during his monologue on"The Daily Show"Monday, March 30.

"I find it so astounding that this nuclear-armed man baby doesn't seem to have any understanding of the confusion and anxiety that his ill-planned adventure in Iran is causing this country," Stewart, 63, said. "He's just trucking along, like it's any old episode of 'The Apprentice.'"

The controversial Middle Eastern conflictbegan last monthafter the U.S. and Israel initiatedstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28in a campaign thatkilled the nation's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and dozens of top officials and hit more than 1,250 targets inside the country.

Comedian Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", will resume production after it was pulled off the air Sept. 17, following comments he made in the wake of Charlie Kirk's killing. Kimmel, a frequent critic of Donald Trump, often earned the ire of the president.

After the announcement, Trump urged other networks to do the same. Scroll to see the other late-night talk show hosts that have feuded with the president over the years.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> In 2016, Jimmy Fallon interviewed Trump ahead of the election, ruffling the then-candidate's signature orange hair. After the interview received backlash, Fallon said he regretted parts of the interview. In response, Trump took to social media to criticize the "Tonight Show" host, writing: "@jimmyfallon is now whimpering to all that he did the famous 'hair show' with me (where he seriously messed up my hair), & that he would have now done it differently because it is said to have 'humanized' me-he is taking heat. He called & said 'monster ratings.' Be a man Jimmy!"

Fallon is pictured here at the Met Gala on May 5, 2025, in New York City.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart has a history of heated exchanges with Trump.

In 2013, Trump tweeted, "I promise you that I'm much smarter than Jonathan Leibowitz - I mean Jon Stewart @TheDailyShow. Who, by the way, is totally overrated." Stewart is a sharp critic of Trump, often taking aim at the political movement he has created.


Here, Stewart is pictured at "The Daily Show" official Emmy Screening on June 7, 2025, in Los Angeles.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> John Oliver, a "Daily Show" alum who now hosts "Last Week Tonight" is also a frequent Trump critic, and feuded publicly with the president over a potential show appearance in 2015.

Oliver said he wasn't interested in having Trump on his show, which Trump responded to on X, writing: "John Oliver had his people call to ask me to be on his very boring and low-rated show, I said 'NO THANKS' Waste of time & energy!" Oliver refuted that report.


Here, Oliver is pictured in at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 14, 2025, in Los Angeles.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> When CBS announced the network was terminating "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" after the 2025-2026 season, Trump took to social media to celebrate.

"I absolutely love that Colbert got fired, his talent was even less than his ratings," the president wrote. Among his late-night peers, Colbert was among Trump's sharpest critics.

Colbert is pictured here at Apple TV+'s Primetime Emmy party red carpet on Sept. 14, 2025, in West Hollywood.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Seth Meyers, the host of "Late Night" on NBC is a frequent critic of Trump and his administration.

The ire, it seems, is mutual, with the president writing previously on social media: "How bad is Seth Meyers on NBC, a 'network' run by a truly bad group of people - Remember, they also run MSDNC. I got stuck watching Marble Mouth Meyers the other night, the first time in months, and every time I watch this moron I feel an obligation to say how dumb and untalented he is, merely a slot filler for the Scum that runs Comcast."

Meyers is pictured here at SiriusXM's "The Howard Stern Show" on June 17, 2025, in New York City.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart, see late-night hosts who have beefed with President Trump

Comedian Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", willresume production after it was pulled off the airSept. 17, following comments he made in the wake of Charlie Kirk's killing. Kimmel, a frequent critic of Donald Trump, often earned the ire of the president.After the announcement, Trump urged other networks to do the same. Scroll to see the other late-night talk show hosts that have feuded with the president over the years.

Trump said the strikes were intended to eliminate "imminent threats" from Iran and prevent the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Stewart then proceeded to play a montage of Trump's recent interviews, in which the president can be seen going off topic after being asked about the war. In one clip, taken from Trump's appearance on the Fox News talk show "The Five," Trump compliments hostDana Perino's appearance shortly after she asked about the welfare of the Iranian people.

Jon Stewart speaks out:Late-night host unloads on Democrats who caved on government shutdown

"You have not changed," Trump told Perino. "I'm not allowed to say this, but you may be even better-looking. I will not say that because that will end my political career. You're not allowed to say a woman's beautiful anymore."

"Honestly, his leering behavior is less 'Commander-in-Chief at war,' and more 'grandpa who's lost his filter in public,'" Stewart continued. "Instead of assuaging a nervous nation, he's just embarrassing the whole family at dinner, going, 'Hey, do you see our waitress is a busty one! Just like your grandma was.'"

White House spokesperson Olivia Wales responded to Stewart's comments in a statement to USA TODAY Tuesday.

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"President Trump's courageous decision to launch Operation Epic Fury is grounded in a truth that presidents for nearly 50 years have been talking about, but no president had the courage to confront," Wales said. "Iran poses a direct threat to the United States of America and our troops in the Middle East.

"The terrorist Iranian regime continues to be crushed by the full might of the most lethal fighting force in the world, and Jon Stewart continues to accomplish nothing except screaming bad takes into the void."

On Monday, Trumpthreatened to bomb civilian infrastructure in Iran, including water and power plants, if peace talks fail. Iranian officials maintain that they are not involved in direct negotiations with Washington and vowed to "severely punish aggressors."

As Tehran tightened its control over the Strait of Hormuz, which carries one-fifth of the world's oil exports, average gasoline prices in the U.S.rose above $4 a gallonfor the first time since 2022.

Late-night TV takes on Trump:Jimmy Kimmel rips Trump's Iran war as 'weapons of mass distraction'

"All we keep hearing from this administration is why the American people have to sacrifice for Trump's vision of America's greatness," Stewart said. "That these temporary disruptions are just part of the process, and why can't we be patriots?

"We have to be patient, we have to suck it up, whether it's high gas prices or whimsical tariff inflation or draconian ICE raids or temporary bill of rights suspensions. It's on us to understand, but Trump gets to be just the same old, 'Ain't I a stinker,' utterly self-absorbed, 'Remember when I used to want to [have sex with] hot girls?' ... self."

This story has been updated to add new information.

Contributing: Terry Collins, Sarah D. Wire, Josh Meyer, Zachary Schermele, Ashley Pōkiʻi Lewis, Nikol Mudrová, Kim Hjelmgaard, Christopher Cann, Bart Jansen, Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Michael Loria and Rachel Barber, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Jon Stewart blasts Donald Trump Iran war comments

byAlex Forten

in

March 31, 2026

Jon Stewart calls Donald Trump 'nuclear-armed man baby' amid Iran war

Jon Stewartisn't letting up on his war of words withPresident Donald Trump. Thelate-night host, who's p...

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LaGuardia controller staffing may have violated procedures on night of collision, document shows

By Doyinsola Oladipo

NEW YORK, March 31 (Reuters) - Air traffic controller staffing at LaGuardia airport on the night an Air Canada jet collided with a fire truck may have violated the facility's procedures by combining roles before midnight, according to a document seen by Reuters.

The crash at the ‌New York airport at about 11:37 p.m. ET on March 22, which killed both pilots, has revived concerns over U.S. air traffic control staffing shortages ‌and the workload of controllers across the country.

Staffing shortages, including at the supervisor level, are placing controllers into combined roles handling local air and ground traffic more often, according to several air traffic controllers ​across the country.

The National Transportation Safety Board said last week that as part of its crash investigation, it was seeking information on the duties being performed by each controller.

If the controller involved in the crash was performing both air and ground duties, that would be inconsistent with the LaGuardia tower's standard operating procedures.

An NTSB final report on a 1997 collision at LaGuardia between a private jet and a vehicle referenced new procedures being put in place afterward to ensure "local and ground positions shall not be combined prior to" midnight at ‌the New York airport.

As of 2023, the rule remained in ⁠place, according to a LaGuardia Tower Standard Operating Procedures document seen by Reuters.

"Positions at LaGuardia Tower are not to be consolidated to one position prior to midnight local time or 90 minutes after the start of the shift, whichever is later," said the 2023 ⁠document, which people familiar with the matter said remained current in 2026.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which runs U.S. air traffic control, said it "supports the NTSB on accident investigations and takes any necessary safety actions based on the evidence."

CONTROLLER DUTIES NOT CLEAR

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters last week that two controllers were working in a glass-enclosed section of the airport's control ​tower ​at the time of the accident.

There was a local controller managing the active runways and the ​immediate airspace and a controller-in-charge who was also providing pilots ‌with departure clearance, she said.

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"It is not clear who was conducting the duties of the ground controller. We have conflicting information," she said, referring to the position that manages all aircraft and vehicle movements on the taxiways, generally excluding active runways.

Multiple current and retired controllers said they believed the local controller who was managing the active runways was also handling traffic on the ground, based on audio posted by LiveATC.net.

The NTSB did not return a request for comment.

Air crash investigations typically find accidents result from multiple contributing factors, rather than a single cause.

COMBINING POSITIONS

The controller-in-charge, who is responsible for safety of operations, signed in at 10:30 p.m. while the local controller signed on ‌at 10:45 p.m., the NTSB's Homendy said.

According to the LaGuardia standard operating procedures document, the local ​and ground positions should not have been combined until midnight at the earliest.

The document also states ​positions will only be consolidated as traffic warrants. If positions are consolidated, ​as traffic volume increases, the positions will be de-combined, the document stated.

On the night of the Air Canada crash, weather-related delays resulted ‌in 70 commercial flights taking off or landing at the airport ​between 10 p.m. and 11:37 p.m., compared with ​an average of 53 in the same time frame since 2022, according to Cirium data.

Several controllers interviewed by Reuters described the workload that night as busy and said other controllers would typically be brought in or stay on past their normal shift end time to manage the heavier-than-scheduled number of flights.

The ​local and ground positions should have stayed uncombined until at ‌least midnight, said a current New York-area controller on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak with media.

"And that is not ​even talking about the traffic, volume and complexity that night," he said.

(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; additional reporting by David Shepardson ​in Washington and Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by Jamie Freed and Nick Zieminski)

byAlex Forten

in

March 31, 2026

LaGuardia controller staffing may have violated procedures on night of collision, document shows

By Doyinsola Oladipo NEW YORK, March 31 (Reuters) - Air traffic controller staffing at LaGuardia airport on th...

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Collin Morikawa WDs from Valero Texas Open, Masters in question

Collin Morikawa withdrew from the Valero Texas Open on Tuesday due to back spasms, putting his availability for the upcoming Masters in jeopardy.

Frankie Capan III will participate in this week's tournament in San Antonio in place of Morikawa, 29, who hasn't played since withdrawing from The Players Championship on March 12.

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A two-time major champion, Morikawa is the world's eighth-ranked golfer.

In five events so far this season, Morikawa has a win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and two top-10 finishes -- a tie for seventh at The Genesis Invitational and fifth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

--Field Level Media

byAlex Forten

in

March 31, 2026

Collin Morikawa WDs from Valero Texas Open, Masters in question

Collin Morikawa withdrew from the Valero Texas Open on Tuesday due to back spasms, putting his availability for the up...

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‘Reacher’ Fans Go Wild as Alan Ritchson’s ‘Idol’ Audition Resurfaces After Brawl

Before becoming action star Jack Reacher andgetting into scraps with his neighbor,Alan Ritchsonwas one of manyAmerican Idolauditionees looking for his break into the industry. Now a tape of him is doing the rounds online again after Ritchson recently hit the news for all the wrong reasons.

Last week, an X user reshared a clip from Ritchson's somewhat awkward audition onIdol's third season, which TV Insider wrote about inFebruary 2025. In the video, a 20-year-old Ritchson appeared before judgesSimon Cowell,Randy Jackson, andPaula Abdul, wearing a tight-fitting t-shirt that showed off his muscles.

"Can I just say, before you start, thank you for putting a little smile on Paula's face," Cowell joked as a bashful Abdul laughed.

"There was this one guy in Atlanta, his name was Alan Ritchson, and he's totally hot," Abdul said in a confessional.

Cowell and Jackson then left the audition room and let Ritchson serenade Abdul up close and personal with a performance of Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life." While not having the greatest vocals ever, all three judges voted "yes", sending him to the next round.

Ritchson made it through to Hollywood Week, where he performed an original song and took part in a group performance with two fellow contestants. He didn't make the judge's final 32.

Fans flooded social media with reactions to the resurfaced clip, with one X user writing, "Alan Ritchson onAmerican Idolcharming Paula Abdul?? That's legendary."

"Alan Ritchson has always been hot before be beefed up," said another.

"Wait alan ritchson on idol? that's wild," another added.

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One user wrote, "This is just another proof the aspiring actors are the same ones showing up in every single TV show."

"Don't think ive ever seen Reacher smile, nevermind sing," quipped another.

"Charms Paula Abdul AND becomes an action hero? That's a win-win career arc," one fan added.

"Paula Abdul has taste, she recognized the future action star energy," another user commented.

"From Idol crooner to Reacher crusher, what a glow-up," said another.

While Ritchson didn't succeed onIdol, he went on to build an impressive career in film and television. A year after his 2004Idolaudition, he landed a role as Arthur Curry/Aquaman onSmallvillebefore taking his first main cast role inBlue Mountain Statein 2010. Since 2022, he's starred in the titular role of Prime Video's action-dramaReacher.

Ritchson has been in the news recently after getting into an a brawl with a neighbor in Tennessee. Initially,TMZ released footagethat seemingly showed Ritchson hitting a man and knocking him to the ground after an argument ensued about the actor riding his motorbike through the neighborhood.

The neighbor, Ronnie Taylor, told TMZ that the Titans star punched him in the face and kicked him to the ground while repeatedly hitting his head. Ritchson then reportedly fell off his bike, got back up, and tried to run Taylor off.

However, Ritchson later revealed that he was wearing a bodycam andreleased the footage to TMZ. In Ritchson's video, Taylor jumps in front of the motorbike, causing the actor to fall to the ground. After an argument, Ritchson tries to drive away, but Taylor keeps standing in front of the bike and pushes Ritchson to the floor. Ritchson then hits Taylor, knocking him to the ground and telling him to "stay down."

Read the latest entertainment news onTV Insider.

byAlex Forten

in

March 31, 2026

‘Reacher’ Fans Go Wild as Alan Ritchson’s ‘Idol’ Audition Resurfaces After Brawl

Before becoming action star Jack Reacher andgetting into scraps with his neighbor,Alan Ritchsonwas one of manyAmerican Id...

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Joseph Duggar Pleads Not Guilty to Child Molestation Charges and Demands Jury Trial as Judge Sets Bond at $600,000

Joseph Duggar appeared before a judge on March 31 in Bay County, Fla., to answer two charges of lewd and lascivious behavior

NEED TO KNOW

• He entered a not guilty plea to all charges, waived arraignment and demanded a jury trial in as written request two days prior to his hearing. His bond was set at $600,000

• Joseph is accused of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl on multiple occasions during a family vacation to Panama City Beach in 2020

Joseph Duggar made his first appearance before a Florida judge on Tuesday morning.

The reality star, 31, appeared remotely from the Bay County Jail for the proceedings just a few hours after being booked into custody at the facility following hisextradition from Arkansas.

His bond was set at $600,000 by the judge during his brief appearance, and he is due back in court on April 20.

He isaccused of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girlmultiple times during a family vacation to Panama City Beach in 2020 and is charged with lewd and lascivious behavior molesting a victim under 12 and lewd and lascivious behavior conducted by a person over 18.

Two days before his court appearance, Joseph submitted a written plea of not guilty to all charges, waived arraignment on those charges and demanded a jury trial, in a document signed by his attorney.

His court appearance comes exactly two weeks after he first confessed to the father of his accuser, according to an affidavit for an arrest warrant obtained by PEOPLE.

The following day, Joseph's accuser, who is now 14, spoke with a detective from the Tontitown Police Department

Related:Joseph Duggar's Latest Mugshot Released Ahead of First Court Appearance on Child Molestation Charges

Related:Kendra Duggar Tells Husband Joseph She Hired a Lawyer for Child Welfare Case On Jail Call: 'It's Not For You, It's Only For Me'

Bay County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigator Chase Norris summarized that interview in the affidavit, writing that Joseph "asked the victim to sit on his lap, numerous times" and "would cradle the victim with his arms."

Joseph then began to "ask the victim to sit on the couch" beside him, according to the affidavit.

Once sitting, Joseph "covered the parties with a blanket" the affidavit says, before proceeding to "pull the victim's dress up and touch the victim's thighs."

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In her interview the girl said Joseph "would touch the top portions of her thighs and would inch higher and higher, closer to the victim's waistline."

The girl said this happened on several occasions, and that "the defendant's hand grazed the victim's vagina" each time, "which made her feel uncomfortable and confused," according to the affidavit.

Joseph "eventually approached the victim and apologized for his actions" according to the affidavit, and "the incidents stopped occurring after the defendant apologized for his actions."

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE's free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Joseph wasarrested just hours after that interviewon March 18 by officers with the TPD at his home in Arkansas.

He was then held at the Washington County Detention Facility until March 27, when he was extradited to Florida.

He is now the second Duggar son to face criminal charges involving alleged underage victims.

In 2021, Joseph's oldest brotherJosh, 38, was convicted by a federal juryof receiving and possessing material depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct .

Josh, who as a teenager also molested five young women including four of his  sisters, is now serving a 12-year sentence in a Texas prison.

Aspokesperson for the Duggar family previously told PEOPLE: "Jim Bob and Michelle are heartbroken over this entire situation. Right now, they are focused on loving their family and helping Kendra and her children during this difficult time. They are praying for the victim. They ask for privacy and appreciate the kind words and prayers offered by so many."

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

Read the original article onPeople

byAlex Forten

in

March 31, 2026

Joseph Duggar Pleads Not Guilty to Child Molestation Charges and Demands Jury Trial as Judge Sets Bond at $600,000

Joseph Duggar appeared before a judge on March 31 in Bay County, Fla., to answer two charges of lewd and lascivious behav...

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As Putin takes Russia off the grid, there are growing signs of discontent

Russians might be getting fed up with the Kremlinmaking their lives harder and more isolatedin the name of security.

A rare call for protests over the weekend followed mounting signs of anger and ridicule aimed at authorities, with pro-Kremlin influencers and newspapers joining a growing wave of public frustration at the government's approach.

A majormobile internet blackout in Moscowand thethrottling of the popular messaging app Telegram, both justified by ambiguous security considerations, helped fuel the rare public criticism over this erosion of digital freedoms and connectivity. It comes against the backdrop of soaring prices and an ailing wartime economy, withlittle sign of major battlefield progress in Ukraine.

Memes on TikTok and Instagram ridiculed Russians resorting to paper maps and pagers in the absence of mobile internet, or walking around the capital with satellite antennas strapped to their laptops.

Others went beyond satire, calling on their compatriots to gather in protest over the weekend. While authorities did not approve any public rallies, at least 20 people were detained for protesting digital restrictions across Russia on Sunday, a rights group said.

President Vladimir Putin "really wants every Russian citizen to feel alone and rejected," information technology specialist Alexander Isavnin said.

"He wants them to keep their discontent inside and feel like they are the only ones not happy about what is going on," Isavnin, 49, told NBC News, explaining why he was among those who tried — and failed — to get approval for protests in the capital and the Moscow region.

"We basically live in a digital concentration camp," he said.

Engaging in any form of protest has become increasingly dangerous sincea crackdown on free speech was intensifiedfollowing the2022 invasion of Ukraine. Even before the war, mass gatherings had to be sanctioned by local authorities. Most are still denied on grounds likeCovidrestrictions, which don't seem to apply to government-approved events.

Still, the increasing limits on digital freedoms appear to have hit a nerve with many Russians, despite the Kremlin's long-standing drive for greater control of their lives.

With state television and media heavily censored, the internet is one of the last bastions of freedom and a source of independent information for millions, although many foreign sites have been banned since the war.

Activist and political strategist Dmitry Kisiev was among those calling for mass gatherings March 29, a symbolic reference to Article 29 of the Russian Constitution, which guarantees freedom of thought and speech.

Kisiev, 31, said local activists had submitted applications to hold rallies in 17 regions across Russia. They were all denied, he said, including some that were initially given the go-ahead. Despite that, the OVD-Info protest monitoring group said Tuesday that at least 25 people were arrested across Russia for protesting digital restrictions Sunday, 18 of them in Moscow. The group also reported detentions ahead of Sunday of people who tried to apply to hold a protest.

Protests could show those who don't agree with the restrictions "that there are other like-minded individuals," Kisiev said.

NBC News reached out to more than a dozen Russians to ask what they think about the calls for protests. Most did not respond, while some declined to speak, without providing a reason.

Earlier this year,some Russians saidthey feared the Kremlin was preparing the public for a "North Korea" model of the internet, heavily controlled and censored by the state. "I don't think the Russian public will accept this," Kisiev said, given how central the internet has become to the lives of millions in the country.

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Russian authorities have said that mobile internet outages are necessary to stop attacks by Ukrainian drones, and that Telegram is turning into a breeding ground for terrorism.

These justifications are "absurd," Kisiev said, adding that the real motivation seems obvious. "The government is intentionally killing the internet so that users don't use foreign resources and get alternative information," he said.

'Bring back the internet'

Russian authorities have touted the merits of a life without the internet, arguing it's an opportunity for a "digital detox" and more face-to-face interaction.

A popular game show that aired on a Russian state TV channel as calls for protests grewearlier this monthfeatured a children's choir, with members dancing enthusiastically and singing about how they don't need the internet. "The monitor's blue screen won't ruin my dinner," they crooned.

But despite this effort from the Kremlin, there is a huge appetite from the public for a way to vent frustration about the mounting restrictions, said politician Boris Nadezhdin, who tried torun for president against Putin in 2024and whose campaign was overseen by Kisiev.

Nadezhdin said in a phone interview that he supported the protests and had personally applied with authorities in the capital and the wider Moscow region for gatherings of up to 10,000 people. All his requests were turned down citing Covid concerns, he said.

"The slogans are clear," he said. "Bring back the internet, bring back Telegram, we don't need your MAX," he said, referring to the so-called national messenger increasingly imposed on Russians by the Kremlin. Critics say the app could be used for mass surveillance.

Taxi driver Alexey Popov applied for a protest against internet censorship in his Siberian town of Yakutsk. It was originally sanctioned for Monday, but that permission was later withdrawn, Popov, 27, told NBC News. The refusal letter from the municipal authorities, viewed by NBC News, stated that Popov could not hold a rally on any date because of "considerable attention" to the event from "destructive individuals."

Popov said he was under no illusion that the protests would persuade the Kremlin not to further crack down, but said he didn't want to give "silent approval" to what the government is doing. "We don't agree with what is going on and we want to express that," he said.

Popov said on a Telegram channel he runs that he was detained Saturday and then released Monday. He told NBC News he was detained for disobeying police, a charge he disputes.

'Wall of mistrust'

The indignation has also been expressed by those either aligned with the Kremlin or normally not politically involved.

The growing restrictions have come in parallel with outrage over the mass extermination of livestock in Siberia, which has wreaked havoc on local farmers, due to what authorities said was an infectious pasteurellosis outbreak.

A lack of communication by the government appears to be at the core of these complaints.

"The wall of mistrust and misunderstanding between the people and the government is growing," pro-Kremlin journalist Anastasia Kashevarova wrote in a post on Telegram last week, as she warned that public revolt was the "fastest way to destroy Russia."

Awell-known Kremlin loyalist unexpectedly turned against Putinearlier this month, then landed in a psychiatric hospital. Ilya Remeslo cited the Kremlin's "strangling of internet and media freedoms" as a sign the Russian leader had lost grip on reality.

Famous Russian blogger Victoria Bonya, known for fitness videos shared with nearly 13 million subscribers on Instagram, also complained about official communication on internet restrictions, as well as the livestock crisis and soaring prices affecting ordinary Russians. "Is the commander-in-chief, Vladimir Putin, aware of what is happening with the country or not?" she questioned in one of her videos earlier this month, in rare public criticism of the Russian leader.

And a pro-Kremlin newspaper recently came out with an unusually critical editorial. "The number of meaningless bans per capita is already off the charts. And again, no sensible explanations," Moskovsky Komsomolets said earlier this month. It questioned whether authorities "consider us to be small children, unwise enough to explain anything to us and trust us."

byAlex Forten

in

March 31, 2026

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