What Happened
Joe Rogan has revealed why “The Joe Rogan Experience” was absent from the inaugural Golden Globes Best Podcast award nominations. On Thursday’s episode of his show, Rogan said he refused to pay the $500 submission fee required by the Golden Globes organization.
“They asked me to submit to be nominated for the Golden Globes and you had to pay $500,” Rogan said. “And the $500 is like for paperwork or whatever. I said, ‘No.’”
Key Details
The New Award Category
The Golden Globes introduced the Best Podcast award for the first time in 2026. Despite being among the top 25 most popular podcasts eligible based on listenership data, Rogan’s show was not among the six nominees.
Amy Poehler won the inaugural award for her podcast “Good Hang.”
Rogan’s Response
Rogan was direct about his reasoning for not participating:
“I don’t want to be a part of that. I don’t care. You’re just a group of people that just decide, all of a sudden, that you’re going to give an award out? ‘I get a trophy’? Fuck off!”
He also pointed to his consistent position at the top of podcast rankings as evidence of his success:
“I already won. You can’t tell me I didn’t win. I’ve been number one for six years in a row. All of a sudden, you’re going to have a contest in front of all these people wearing tuxedos and you’re going to say now I’m not number one?”
Rogan’s Podcast Dominance
| Platform | 2025 Ranking |
|---|---|
| Spotify | #1 (5th consecutive year) |
| Apple Podcasts | #1 |
| YouTube | #1 |
The 2026 Golden Globes Podcast Nominees
The six nominated podcasts were:
- Good Hang With Amy Poehler (Winner)
- SmartLess (Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes)
- Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard
- Call Her Daddy (Alex Cooper)
- The Mel Robbins Podcast
- Up First (NPR)
Others Who Declined
Rogan was not alone in skipping the submission process. Representatives for Megyn Kelly confirmed that “The Megyn Kelly Show” also declined to formally submit for consideration.
What’s Next
With the Golden Globes’ podcast category now established, it remains to be seen whether future ceremonies will attract participation from top-ranking shows or if the award will continue without the industry’s biggest names.
Sources
Last updated: 2026-02-01 09:00 UTC