Joe Rogan's Ties With Disney, Explained

As a successful podcaster and semi-professional conspiracy theorist, Joe Rogan has been a controversial public figure for many years — and he's now opening up about the role Disney played in his rise to fame and his impressive net worth. Rogan has taken a lot of heat for remarks made on his podcast, "The Joe Rogan Experience," and for some of the outlandish rumors he's given a platform to via his more problematic or divisive guests. However, despite the scandals and backlash — and claims that he refused to get vaccinated for COVID-19 — it has become one of the most listened to and influential podcasts in the country.

During an episode of his podcast that dropped on October 16, 2024, Rogan reflected on his early years in showbusiness, working as a stand-up comic and aspiring actor, scraping by on whatever odd jobs and one-off roles he could pick up. Rogan recalled that the first real success he tasted came almost 30 years earlier, when Disney came knocking with a development deal that would change his life and put him on the path to his current (albeit controversial) success.

"I remember the first check I got, a real check, I got a development deal from Disney, of all people," Rogan recalled. "I was like 26 and it was the first time ever I had a good chunk of money, like six figures, in the bank. And I felt [like] the weight lifted off me. ... Because, my whole life was like, 'How am I gonna eat? How am I gonna pay my rent?' Then all of a sudden, I don't have to worry about [that] anymore." 

A year after inking a deal with Disney, Joe Rogan booked his first starring gig on the short-lived Fox sitcom "Hardball." His acting breakthrough then came when he was cast as handyman and electrician Joe Garrelli on NBC's hit sitcom "News Radio," which ran for five seasons. That new level of exposure led to him landing a gig as the host of the popular reality competition show "Fear Factor," before Rogan began embracing his love for mixed martial arts and secured a lucrative role as a UFC fight commentator.

Then, in 2010, Rogan officially launched "The Joe Rogan Experience," a free podcast that quickly became a hit. Within a few years, each episode was being regularly streamed or downloaded by millions of listeners. After a decade of success, Rogan's podcast reportedly signed a $200 million exclusivity deal with Spotify, marking one of the biggest deals ever signed for a podcast at the time. Then, in February 2024, Rogan signed a new deal with Spotify that was worth $250 million.

Rogan's controversial past remarks led to some headaches for Spotify, however. In February 2022, dozens of episodes of his podcast were removed from Spotify due to the nature of their content. A website devoted to tracking the total number of unavailable episodes of the podcast, JREMissing.com, claims that over 116 episodes are missing and five have been shortened, as of October 2024. However, Rogan's podcast is still going strong and getting good ratings — particularly after his high-profile and rambling interview with Donald Trump. Controversy can't seem to keep Rogan down for long.