Patricia Krentcil, AKA 'Tan Mom', had her 15 minutes of fame in 2012 when she was accused of bringing her five-year-old to a tanning salon. The whole drama was sparked when staff members at her daughter's school saw burn marks on her body and noticed her unnaturally darkened skin, according to Life & Style. While Tan Mom was found 'not guilty', due to incident evidence, her name would go down in infamy... for about two seconds until everyone forgot about her. Well, everyone except for Howard Stern.
While Howard's 40-year-plus radio career now focuses on celebrity interviews and staff hijinx, he still has time for his 'Whack Pack'. This is his group of perceived oddities and miscreants. Although some critics believe it's politically incorrect for Howard to focus on these individuals for comedic purposes, each of them appears to adore the spotlight and the financial opportunities that Howard gives them for the sake of entertainment. This is certainly true of Tan Mom. After all, who knows where she would be if Howard hadn't saved her career?
Tan Mom's First Stern Show Appearance
In 2012, the same year Tan Mom made headlines for the whole daughter tanning incident, she appeared on The Howard Stern Show. Even though Howard asked her about the incident, she was actually there to promote her skincare line which never seemed to take off. Her moment in the sun was dimming and Tan Mom, or as she was once known, 'Tanning Mom', was soon to become irrelevant.
In the interview, Tan Mom explained her love of tanning as well as told Howard why it is she seems so all over the place.
"I have plates in my head cause I [was] hurt when I was young. … So I’m a little ditzy and I slip a lot and my equal balance is off," Tan Mom said to Howard and his co-host Robin Quivers.
During the interview, one of the Stern Show staffers called in pretending to be Ray Liotta. Tan Mom was quick to enter a seductive and steamy conversation with 'Ray' that sparked some genius in Howard... It seems that it was then and there when he figured out that his audience would really get a kick out of having her back... This is how she became a mainstay on the show.
Tan Mom Gets A Platform And Howard's Audience Gets Endless Entertainment
Howard and his well-paid staffers find the strangest and seemingly most insulting ways of satirizing the former internet star who often slurs her words, mixes people and places up, gets drunk at events, curses out anyone who she believes has wronged her, and apparently fell down a well as a child. But Tan Mom actually appears to enjoy the teasing and, more importantly, has used the attention to launch a 'music career'.
Although her music videos tend to feel like spoofs on bad music videos. However, her songs are annoyingly catchy and downright entertaining thanks to music producer Adam Barta's skills at keeping Tan Mom somewhat focused.
It's kind of hard to pinpoint what exactly Tan Mom does. Is she a singer? Or is she just a 'celebrity or 'personality that people want to interact with for a goof? Either way, it's downright funny and Tan Mom seems to be making a couple of dollars from it. Funnily enough, most of the money she makes from her events or music videos goes to... you guessed it... tanning beds and tanning products.
She definitely knows how to stay on brand.
And that 'brand' isn't tanning... It's absurdity. And it's downright entertaining.
This is precisely what Howard Stern gets out of featuring Tan Mom on his show. Without a doubt, Tan Mom is unpredictable. One minute, she could be fascinated with something and the next she could be flying off the handle. This personality trait was perfectly captured by Howard's former staff member, Shuli Egar, who would imitate her voice and even operate a Tan Mom puppet.
Watching Tan Mom interact with famous celebrities is also something Howard has enjoyed featuring on his show. From her nonsensical feud with Jimmy Kimmel ('Jimmy Kimbel' in Tan Mom talk) to the terrible career advice she gave to Amy Poehler (aka 'Amy Pollack'), seeing Tan Mom develop relationships with the rich and famous is downright funny. And, again, it brings attention to whatever crazy career venture she's currently exploring.
Even during the pandemic, Tan Mom has found a way to try and move her career forward. She started a show called 'Tan Talk' where she'd discuss everything from tanning to her music and... well... whatever's on her mind. You never know what Tan Mom will do or say which is why people actually pay money to tune into her Zoom shows and why Howard and Adam have spent so much time keeping her the slightest bit relevant.
For those who think Howard or Adam Barta are exploiting someone with obvious issues, they should really consider the nature of reality television. After all, there's really not much difference between Tan Mom and the Real Housewives. One is just slightly more tan.