‘Stuttering John’ suing podcasters for ‘surreptitiously’ recording his voice and mocking him

“Stuttering John” Melendez is suing a pair of podcasters for secretly recording his voice and using his name — and even his couch cushions — to make a buck off his “significant fame.”

Melendez, 59, claims comedians Karl Heberger and Shuli Egar, the hosts of “Who are These Podcasts?” used “illegally recorded private phone calls” to mock and ridicule him on air and in live events where he was the main attraction.

“Melendez is a well-known figure in comedy and broadcasting, with a distinctive voice and persona that he has cultivated over decades,” Melendez said in his Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit.

Melendez rose to fame on the Howard Stern show, where he was known for asking celebrities offensive questions and then taking the abuse they hurled his way.

“Melendez’s name and likeness carry significant fame and goodwill among audiences,” he contended in the Aug. 7 legal filing, adding Heberger and Egar were “not as well-known.”

Egar also worked for Stern until 2024. He and Melendez were coworkers on the show for about a year.

At the center of the complaint is an event held in Rochester last August called “DabbleCon 2,” aimed at online fans who “dabble” in internet gossip.

Heberger, 47, and Egar, 50, allegedly teased juicy portions of secret phone calls between Melendez and comedian Kate Meaney, in which he makes unsolicited advances towards her.

The duo has systematically used excerpts of those recordings, along with Melendez’ picture and other personal material, as the centerpiece of their podcast and comedy act for months, Melendez said in the legal filing.

Heberger and Egar even trespassed on his Los Angeles property and rifled through his trash to snatch sofa cushions from an old couch to display as a “comedic exhibit” in Rochester, he alleged.

The pair “put the used cushions on display for attendees to photograph and joke about” essentially treating his “discarded trash as a trophy,” Melendez claimed in the lawsuit.

“The stunt was clearly intended to ridicule plaintiff and to further entice fans by offering a bizarrely intimate connection to him,” it states.

“This lawsuit is completely frivolous and without merit,” Heberger told The Post, denying any wrongdoing and slamming it as an “asinine attempt at a money-grab.”

“This lawsuit is a sad attempt from a sad man to make money,” added Egar.

It’s not the first time Melendez has gone after people for using his voice. In 2020, he sued SiriusXM, claiming the company exploited his name and voice to promote Stern’s show when he left after 15 years. He ultimately lost the case.

“John is not an intelligent man. We’ve watched him make the same mistakes over and over,” added Heberger.

Melendez was on “The Howard Stern Show” from 1988 to 2004 when he left to become the new announcer on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,” where he worked in various capacities until 2014.

In 2018, he launched “The Stuttering John Podcast,” where he gained attention for a prank call to President Trump. The podcast ran until December.

Since then, he’s been doing stand-up shows and Cameo videos.

Melendez’s lawyer did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.