NEWSChelsea Handler Slams Joe Rogan for Making $82 Million After 'Forbes' Names Him Highest-Paid Podcaster
'The Joe Rogan Experience' was named the highest-earning podcast of 2026 by 'Forbes.'
July 31 2026, Published 10:24 a.m. ET
Chelsea Handler publicly criticized Joe Rogan on Instagram, slamming his massive $82 million earnings after Forbes named him the highest-paid podcaster of 2026.
In her social media post, Handler questioned the value of his content relative to his payout. She wrote, “82 million to be completely uninformed and say 'whoopsie doodle,' every time he's wrong, which is FREQUENT?”
The dispute was triggered by Forbes' annual financial rankings, which placed "The Joe Rogan Experience" at the top of the podcasting industry.
Chelsea Handler criticized Joe Rogan via social media after his whopping payout was revealed.
Joining Rogan in the top five highest earners are John Coogan and Jordi Hays, whose tech and business-oriented “TBPN by OpenAI” podcast is worth $70 million, Steven Bartlett’s “The Diary of a CEO” which earns $45 million, Ashley Flowers’ “Crime Junkie” at $42 million, and “SmartLess” by actors Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes at $37 million.
While Handler called out Rogan's content accuracy, his show remains a massive commercial powerhouse.
He currently operates under a lucrative, multi-year Spotify deal valued at up to $250 million.
Chelsea Handler recently announced the launch of her own 'Dear Chelsea Network' with iHeartPodcast.
Meanwhile, Handler is expanding her own footprint in the medium, having recently announced the launch of her own "Dear Chelsea Network" with iHeartPodcast.
Rogan officially became a podcaster on December 24, 2009, when he dropped the first episode of his long-form broadcast.
He initially started the weekly show as a live video stream on Ustream with his friend and fellow comedian, Brian Redban.
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'Deep Listener Trust With Massive Scale'
Joe Rogan dropped the first episode of his long-form broadcast on December 24, 2009.
The inspiration for the project came two years prior, following an appearance on Canadian comedian Tom Green's live internet talk show in 2007. Since its low-budget beginnings, the podcast has grown substantially.
Initially hosted for free on YouTube and various audio networks, the show signed a massive exclusivity deal with Spotify in 2020. This partnership was renewed in early 2024 for an estimated $250 million.
Rogan pulls in over 80 million downloads and views every month while recording about 15 episodes.
Forbes described his show as pairing "deep listener trust with massive scale," which is seemingly what fueled Handler’s criticism of him.
Critics say Rogan’s podcast serves as a major platform for right-wing conspiracy theories and inaccurate health information.
Joe Rogan's Podcast Faces Backlash
Joe Rogan occasionally faces backlash for remarks made on his podcast.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rogan promoted unproven treatments like ivermectin and questioned the safety and efficacy of vaccines. This prompted an open letter from over 270 scientists and medical professionals urging Spotify to implement a misinformation policy.
The show has hosted guests who propagate debunked claims, including theories about the January 6th U.S. Capitol riot being an "inside job" and election fraud narratives.
Critics argue that Rogan's conversational, non-confrontational interview style allows far-right commentators and conspiracy theorists to broadcast false claims to a massive audience without sufficient pushback or real-time fact-checking.
Rogan defends his approach by stating he is not a journalist, but an entertainer who hosts open-ended, casual conversations driven by personal curiosity.
“I think there’s a lot of people that have a distorted perception of what I do, maybe based on sound bites or based on headlines of articles that are disparaging,” he said.
