Howard Stern’s ex-sidekick reveals horrifying transformation due to drug use: ‘It’s just in bad shape’

=Comedian Artie Lange, Howard Stern’s controversial former co-host, was seen this week for the first time in five years.

According to The U.S. Sun, 58 year-old Lange posed in a photo alongside fellow comedians Jeff Ross, Dave Juskow, Rachel Feinstein and Amanda Gail, and his sister, Stacey Lange, with what appears to be a reconstructed nose.

Comedian Artie Lange seen here during a court appearance in 2018, recently shared that he has been clean and sober for close to a year.Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media

During a 2019 interview on the podcast NSFW, Artie said his drug addiction was to blame for his deformed nose.

“The reason I have this nose is, of course, the abuse. I have no septum,” he said during the interview.

He went on to explain how he was allegedly kidnapped by a bookie he owed money to, who then punched Lange in the nose.

“It destroyed my nose. The septum from the abuse from the years of drugs and this hit broke it, and I’ve had two operations, and it’s just in bad shape,” he said.

Lange was on The Howard Stern Show from 2001 until 2009, but his struggle with alcohol and drugs were cited as the reason he left, according to the Sun.

In 2020, he shared on Instagram that he’d been sober for a year.

“I’m one year clean today. No deep thoughts to share. Just #gratitude,” he posted.