Joe Rogan Debunks Golden Globes Snub With $500 Claim

Joe Rogan missing out on the Golden Globes nomination list looks like his own doing, at least, that is what he is saying.

The podcaster has come on air to refute claims that the award ceremony snubbed him, instead he clarified it was a deliberate act on his part to exclude himself from the lineup after he was approached for payment.

Joe Rogan’s podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience” has become one of the rallying points for controversial topics in recent years, including allegations that he actively contributed to Donald Trump’s 2024 electoral victory.

The media personality responded to circulating theories that anti-woke figures like him were dropped from the list. He declared on the Thursday episode of his podcast that he actually did not submit his podcast to be nominated against the circulating theories.

“So they asked me to submit to be nominated for the Golden Globes, and you had to pay $500, and the $500 was like for paperwork or whatever. I said no,” Rogan stated. He stressed that, as far as he is concerned, he already won and award shows will not make him think otherwise.

According to the podcaster, “I’ve been number one for six years in a row. All of a sudden, you’re gonna have a contest in front of all these people wearing tuxedoes, and you’re gonna say, ‘Now I’m not number one?'”

Rogan’s comment came after Bill Maher, a fellow podcaster, slammed the Golden Globes for failing to recognize the YouTuber and his huge platform. Maher urged Hollywood people to get out of the bubble, noting that they are “f-cking smug as-holes who are hard to defend.”

The award show came with many surprises on Sunday, January 11, when Teyana Taylor clinched the Best Female Supporting Actor award for her performance in “One Battle After Another.” 

Deadline reported that the actress snatched the win over other nominees in the category, including Amy Madigan for “Weapons.” These pleasant surprises also came with their fair share of snubs, which saw some front-runners in their categories go home empty-handed.

Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” failed to secure a win alongside Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s “Wicked: For Good,” whose predecessor, “Wicked,” won the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement award in 2025.

“Bugonia,” a film starring Emma Stone, earned several nominations but failed to steal the hearts of Golden Globes voters. “Sinners” was also snubbed for the Best Motion Picture-Drama win, as the voters preferred Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet.”

Aside from the snubs at the event, the award show also suffered a severe drop in its viewership ratings, adding salt to the injury of the 26% drop witnessed by organizers last year.

As reported by The Blast, the 2026 edition of the show received 8.66 million live and same-day viewership, indicating a 7% drop from last year’s 9.27 million viewership.

In comparison, this year fared better than the 80th edition in 2023, which experienced a paltry 1.1 rating with 6.3 million views. The show last aired in 2021, where 6.9 million viewers enjoyed the show and gained a 1.5 rating among adults.

The Golden Globes experienced a setback in 2022 when it lost NBC as its broadcast partner due to allegations of shady financial practices and a lack of diversity and representation. In 2024, the ceremony aired live on CBS and experienced a 50% climb from the dip in 2023, recording over 9 million viewers.

Despite interviewing him on his podcast weeks leading up to the 2024 elections, The Blast noted that Rogan broke his silence last July and gave a review of the president’s mass deportation policies carried out under the auspices of ICE.

“The targeting of migrant workers, not cartel members, not gang members, not drug dealers. Just construction workers. Showing up at construction sites, raiding them. Gardeners, like, really?” Rogan said at the time, adding that no one would have wished for that to happen.

The media personality’s statement caught the attention of Mark Ruffalo, who reminded Rogan that he helped him get elected by offering him his platform for publicity despite several warnings of what would follow should he get re-elected. According to the Marvel star:

“It’s good that you’re speaking up, but please be honest with yourself about the role you played here.”

The actor reminded Rogan about Trump’s Project 2025, which included a pledge to carry out an expansive deportation in the United States that would ensure over 10 million undocumented immigrants return to their countries.