Howard Stern Producer Jokes About Being Misidentified as Don Lemon’s Husband

Last week, Howard Stern producer Gary Dell’Abate, a longtime HIV/AIDS advocate, was honored with the Elizabeth Taylor Commitment to End AIDS Award at the organization’s third annual New York Dinner.

Rosie Perez was also honored at the event that was hosted by former CNN journalist Don Lemon. Dell’Abate and Lemon were photographed together at the event, which was held on May 8, and in some photos the Stern producer was misidentified as Lemon’s husband Tim Malone, who the journalist married in 2024.

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Of course, the mix up became fodder on Stern’s Sirius/XM show on Monday, May 12, with the radio personality teasing his longtime producer about the incorrect photo caption.

Dell’Abate had a sense of humor about the whole thing and even posted a photo of himself and Lemon on his Instagram account on Monday and joked about it in the caption.

“It was such a thrill being honored last week by The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. Here I am pictured with my husband, Don Lemon. Tune into this morning’s Howard Stern Wrap Up Show to hear about how Don and I became husbands…,” he wrote.

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While some fans poked fun at Dell’Abate in the comments, at least one fan applauded the producer for his work raising money and awareness in the fight against AIDS and his motivation behind it and scolded those making fun of the radio personality.

“His brother died of AIDS. He estimates he’d raised $1M. What’s your problem?” they wrote.

Another also applauded Dell’Abate. “Gary, you are an incredible human being,” they wrote.

Following the death of his brother Steven in January 1991, Dell’Abate became a supporter of LIFEbeat: The Music Industry Fights AIDS and served as president of the organization, which eventually transitioned into the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 2024.