Joe

Spotify on Thursday said it renewed its deal with Joe Rogan, who leads the audio company’s most popular podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience.”

Rogan’s podcast, which has 18 million followers on Spotify, has been the company’s top podcast since 2020. The terms of the multiyear licensing deal were not disclosed. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported the deal had an estimated earn out of $250 million.

“The partnership with Spotify has been an amazing fit, and they’re incredible to work with,” Rogan said in a statement. “I’m extremely happy and excited to continue with them for years to come.”

Rogan first entered into an exclusive multiyear podcast deal with Spotify in 2020 in a deal said to be worth $100 million. The partnership was key to driving podcast audiences to Spotify, which at the time was mostly known for as a streaming music service.

In 2024, the company extended its partnership for “The Joe Rogan Experience” to be distributed on other platforms, which has continued in its current deal. Rogan’s show was ranked as the top podcast last year on Spotify, YouTube and Apple Podcasts.

“Joe has built something incredibly enduring, and his show continues to resonate with a massive global audience because there’s simply nothing else like it,” said Jordan Newman, head of content partnerships at Spotify in a statement.

“The Joe Rogan Experience” has run into controversy, spurring a Spotify boycott in 2022 led by Neil Young over concerns that Rogan and his guests were spreading misinformation related to the COVID-19 vaccine. Rogan also received criticism over how he used the N-word on past episodes of his show, which he later apologized for.

After the backlash, Spotify posted its content moderation rules and said it would add content advisory labels on COVID-related podcasts. Rogan also said he would do a better job of balancing different perspectives.

Young later returned to Spotify in 2024.

In a new memoir, Joe Manganiello is getting candid about the condition that nearly killed him and the measures he took in search of healing.

The upcoming book, “Bloodlines,” which hits bookstores and online retailers Oct. 13, follows Manganiello’s career in Hollywood from “True Blood” werewolf to “Magic Mike” hunk, his seven-year marriage and subsequent divorce from “Modern Family” star Sofía Vergara and his battle with a mystery autoimmune condition that he says nearly killed him.

The 2010s were off to a stellar start for Manganiello. He was landing notable parts in buzzy projects and fell in love with television’s Colombian Jessica Rabbit, but shortly after the couple said “I do,” the actor’s rise abruptly switched course because of health issues that left doctors stumped.

Adam Rodriguez, onstage from left, Kevin Nash, Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer and Joe Manganiello in “Magic Mike.”

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

“I was getting sicker and sicker,” he told People. Manganiello detailed debilitating abdominal pain, fevers, rashes, headaches, fatigue and ulcers in his digestive tract that caused bleeding and led to countless colonoscopies. In 2016, he was rolled into an emergency “major organ amputation” in which doctors removed a portion of his intestines and sent him home 60 pounds lighter than his normal weight, with a colostomy bag in tow.

“It happened to me, and it’s the truth, and I have all the scars to prove it,” Manganiello told the outlet. Doctors attempted to treat the actor with prescriptions used for patients with Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, but nothing worked. An autoimmune disease seemed to be the culprit, he said, but such “conditions are a dumping ground for things [doctors] don’t understand. They start running you through this gauntlet of drugs.”

Manganiello said that, as a result of the illness, his marriage fell apart, he gave away his gun to protect himself from suicidal impulses, and he took in an itty-bitty Chihuahua named Bubbles.

He also started to pursue alternative treatment, which included a trip to Cuba, where he licked the pituitary gland in a goat’s skull, an esoteric ritual used to attempt a factory reset on a person’s immune system. When that didn’t cure him, he turned to a Santa Monica shaman who believed generational trauma caused the actor’s ailments.

“Whatever chains there were to the past suffering of my ancestors, they were completely broken,” he said. “There’s not an ounce of fear in me about moving forward with my life.”

Manganiello revealed he’s since had reconstructive surgery on his digestive tract and is seemingly cured.

“I can’t believe I’m alive,” he said. “I feel like I was reborn.”

Joe Marler has revealed that he put on a stone during filming for Celebrity Traitors after overindulging in the extravagant breakfasts that are on offer for players

Joe Marler has revealed that he put on a stone during filming for Celebrity Traitors. The rugby star, 36, was one of several famous faces to enter the famous castle last year before comedian Alan Carr walked off with the top prize.

The show is famed for its extravagant breakfasts, which players enjoy as they discuss the game, and now Joe has recalled just how much he indulged during production of their show.

Speaking to Richard Osman and Marina Hyde at their live version of The Rest is Entertainment podcast, he explained: “So you get flown up there and then you get shoved in the Marriott Hotel in Inverness Airport. It was gorgeous!

“I was in the room, you put a card under the door, your food gets brought to you, you can have as much as you like. “There’s no interaction with anyone, any other contestants and then you’re taken to the castle.

“For the first bit of enjoying yourself, just watch what you’re eating, to go in there and put on eight kilos. Some people engage in a second breakfast, some people it would be their first breakfast. Some people it might be a third breakfast.”

During his time on the programme, Joe, a Faithful, reached the final and correctly sussed that Alan, along with Cat Burns, were Traitors. But in a shock move, he was banished in the final at the last minute, meaning that Alan could walk away from the show victorious.

Viewers are just days away from the new series of Celebrity Traitors, which will launch on October 1 and feature will feature a stellar line-up of names including Coronation Street legend Julie Hesmondhalgh, Little Mix star Leigh Anne Pinnock and singer James Blunt.

Maya Jama, best known for fronting Love Island, as well as best friends and comedians Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan will be seen taking part as well, amongst a host of others.

Before the official release date was confirmed, Joe appeared alongside Pointless star Richard at an event and it seemed as if the pair had accidentally revealed the launch date, although this turned out not to be the case.

It’s reported that he asked Joe if he had any advice for the upcoming group of contestants, and he said: “What is it, September 23, the next series?”

Then, Richard replied: “By the way, to point out, it’s absolutely embargoed that it starts on September 23. Let’s talk about what we call the events of September 23 this year … the cat’s out of the bag, isn’t it? Not to repeat it.” A BBC spokesperson declined to comment.

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THEY’RE two of the nation’s biggest content creators with over 700,000 YouTube subscribers between them.

But Joe Baggs, 29, and GK Barry, 27, are no longer flying the flag for each other’s media careers and their once close friendship appears to be in tatters.

A source told The Sun: “GK and Joe used to be joined at the hip but they have quietly grown apart. They haven’t been seen together publicly since GK left the jungle, and never like each other’s posts on social media.

“Even when GK released her book, which was a big deal for her, there was radio silence from Joe.

“There’s lots of whispers about what went down, some have speculated that Joe was jealous when Grace got her spot in the jungle as he’s always wanted to do that show, while others have rubbished that suggestion and said they just drifted as she got busier.

“What’s really sad is that she always used to be round his family’s house for dinner, went on holiday together and they always posted it on the ‘gram, and now she’s never seen with the Baggs lot. It’s like they just disappeared from each other’s lives.

“Tellingly, Joe’s boyfriend Kane used to seem pretty pally with Grace too, but even he doesn’t comment on her posts anymore, so something sad has definitely gone down.”

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Another source close to Joe insisted, however, that there is no bad blood.

They said: “Joe couldn’t be prouder of everything Grace has achieved since leaving the jungle. The reality is that both of their careers have taken off in different directions and, with increasingly busy work schedules, they simply don’t get to spend as much time together as they once did.

“There’s absolutely no bad blood, they remain friends and continue to champion one another from the sidelines.”

Just this week, however, Joe appeared to give away the lack of closeness between him and Grace, where he revealed fellow podcaster Chloe Burrows is his best pal at the Fellas Studio, where they both record their podcasts.

Interestingly GK also records her hit podcast, Saving Grace, at Fellas, as they are all part of the same podcast company, so the fact that he named Chloe as his work bestie and not Grace has caused a flurry of gossip in their inner circle.

“Joe and GK have lots of mutual friends, and they are all talking about this,” a pal spilled.

“The fact that Joe said this about Chloe on his pod was basically admitting that he and Grace aren’t close anymore, but few fans will have clocked it because they don’t understand they all work out of the same studio.

“Strangely, both GK and Joe are being very tight-lipped, even with their friends, about what went down, which has only made the rumour mill even more frenzied.

“It’s a shame as they were so close and they are very similar, but sadly, right now it’s looking like they aren’t going to be BFFs again anytime soon.”

The Sun has contacted representatives for Joe and GK for comment.

Both YouTubers have been chasing mainstream fame and have had successful years.

GK – real name Grace Keeling – was one of the standout stars on I’m A Celebrity last year and has gone on to establish herself as a Loose Woman. She’s also landed her own weekly show on Radio 1 as the station underwent a major reshuffle to appeal to a young more online-driven audience.

However, listeners of the BBC station criticised her first show and questioned if it was recorded live like her predecessors Matt Edmonson and Mollie King after she failed to interact with the audience.

Meanwhile, Joe is now a panellist on Love Island: Aftersun and hosted an official Britain’s Got Talent spin-off.

Former world number one doubles player and six-time Grand Slam doubles champion Joe Salisbury has retired from professional tennis.

Londoner Salisbury chose this month’s US Open as his final event and reached the semi-finals with his long-time partner Rajeev Ram, who had also decided to retire.

The venue was fitting, as in 2023 Salisbury and Ram became the first pair in history to win three consecutive US Open men’s doubles titles.

Salisbury is Britain’s most successful men’s doubles player of the Open era. He also won the 2020 Australian Open with Ram, and two mixed doubles titles with Desirae Krawczyk.

The 34-year-old says he has been thinking about his future for a while, and is now “very happy with the decision”.

“Tennis has been my life for as long as I can remember and I have been incredibly fortunate to have had all the opportunities, experiences and success that I have,” he posted on Instagram.

“To be able to travel the world and call playing tennis my job has been a dream come true and I never believed I could have lived the life and had the career that I have.

“I gave it my all and know I can be proud and look back with no regrets.”

Salisbury took a three-month break at the start of this year, having told BBC Sport about the anxiety which had been affecting him on tour.

While he did not think it affected his tennis very much, he said it left him with a “feeling of dread” which made life on the road far less enjoyable.

“I had some time off for a few months earlier on in the year – I wasn’t really enjoying being on tour for a few reasons,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“I came back and I didn’t really have a successful year. Then I teamed back up with my partner, Rajeev Ram, who I had all my success in Grand Slam titles [with] so it was great playing with him again and he was retiring at the US Open this year.

“I thought I could go on [until the] end of this year, maybe next year but I felt like it was nice to finish my career playing with him at the US Open where we had our success, and we had a good run making the semi-finals to finish.”

Salisbury finishes his career with 17 tour level titles, including the season-ending ATP Finals of 2022 and 2023.