Who is Bubba the Love Sponge? Radio host’s history with Hulk Hogan explored as ‘Hogan Knows Best’ star’s rep denies deathbed rumor

American retired professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, whose real name is Terry Gene Bollea, was recently hospitalized for neck and back-related ailments. However, despite the online rumors, he was not nearing death.

Radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge, who is the former best friend of Hogan, first claimed during a June 18 livestream on his YouTube channel The Bubba Army that the wrestler was “in the hospital” and “might not make it.”

The 8-minute video was titled, “EXCLUSIVE: It’s Not Looking Good for Hulk Hogan,” and had three other streamers join Bubba the Love Sponge. In it, the radio host discussed his complicated relationship with Hogan, the rise and fall in their decades-long friendship, and the infamous Gawker scandal surrounding the wrestler.

Despite Bubba’s claim triggering a panic among Hulk Hogan’s fans, it has turned out to be untrue. Hogan’s representative told E! News on Wednesday that there are “no reasons to panic.”

The spokesperson also confirmed that the WWE Hall of Famer underwent neck surgery, which “has indeed been successful,” adding Hogan has had “problems with his back” for years, and his current state was nothing new.

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All you need to know about Bubba the Love Sponge and his history with Hulk Hogan

Bubba the Love Sponge is a radio personality from Warsaw, Indiana, who is famous for hosting the WWBA syndicated radio show in Tampa, Florida, called The Bubba the Love Sponge Show. His real name is Todd Alan Clem.

Bubba now hosts a show on Florida Man Radio and runs a subscription service called Bubba Army Radio.

He started in the mid-1980s as a DJ and part-time host at WISU radio. Over the years, he’s worked at stations across the U.S., including in Indiana, Michigan, Texas, Illinois, Florida, and Wisconsin.

Between 1992 to 1996, he was employed with WFLZ-FM in Tampa, Florida, and later moved on to WXTB in the same city, a gig that lasted from 1996 to 2004. In September 2005, Bubba the Love Sponge was hired by Howard Stern to host weekday afternoon shows on Howard 101, a part of Sirius Satellite Radio.

Jennifer McDaniel, Hulk Hogan, and Bubba the Love Sponge at an event. (Image via Getty)

Later, he returned to conventional radio, including WHPT and WFYV-FM between 2008 and 2019. In 2011, Bubba formed the Bubba Army Radio as a talk show and entertainment platform. The 59-year-old also signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2010. The following year, he bought the Bubba Raceway Park.

Clem has been married twice. He married his second wife and model Heather Cole, in 2007, during which Hulk Hogan was his best man. The couple separated in March 2011 and filed for divorce in September of that year. Bubba has a son from a past relationship, and Hogan is his godfather.

Over the years, Bubba the Love Sponge has had multiple legal issues, including domestic violence, abuse, troubles with the IRS, owing property taxes to the government, a manipulation lawsuit, a defamation lawsuit, a payola lawsuit, and the infamous Hulk Hogan s*x tape suit.

Hogan sued his former best friend Clem for reportedly filming a s*x tape featuring him and Heather Cole in October 2012, accusing Bubba of invading his privacy. Meanwhile, the tape was publicly leaked by now-defunct gossip site Gawker, creating a scandal.

However, the friend duo later settled the civil suit for an undisclosed amount. Bubba the Love Sponge later posted a public apology for Hulk Hogan, now aged 71.

"It is my belief that Hulk is not involved, and has not ever been involved, in trying to release the video, or exploit it, or otherwise gain from the video's release in any way," he wrote.

Meanwhile, Hulk shared on the TODAY Show in October 2012 that he was unaware he was being recorded, and called the incident a “low point” in his life.

"First off, I had no idea there was a camera in the room. It was at a very, very low point. I'm not making excuses. I'm accountable. I was the guy. I was there. I made the choice," Hogan stated. He added, “For me, I'm going full-blown to find out who did this to me and why, and what's the motive. I had no idea someone would put a camera in a room.”

Bubba later went on record to blame his former associate, Mike Calta, for leaking the tape, the Daily Mail reported at the time.

Meanwhile, the Hogan Knows Best star later sued Gawker Media for leaking the tape, and a six-person jury awarded him more than $140 million in damages in March 2016. However, later, Hulk Hogan settled for $31 million from the company.

According to Us Magazine, the tape was filmed in 2006 when Hulk was a guest at Bubba’s home. At the time, the wrestler was married to his wife of 24 years, Linda Hogan, whom he later divorced in 2007.

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Notably, the current rumor started by Bubba the Love Sponge about his former best friend’s near-fatal medical condition has since been refuted by Hulk Hogan’s rep.

The spokesperson previously told TMZ in May 2025 that Hogan had to go through a “little fusion procedure,” an add-on to his other 25 surgeries he has had over the last decade.

In September 2024, the WWE star told Jake Paul on the latter’s IMPAULSIVE podcast:

“I’ve had like 25 surgeries in the last ten years. 10 of them were back surgeries. I’ve had… both knees and both hips replaced, shoulders—everything.”

His health scare news comes amid an ongoing family dispute. Hulk Hogan’s daughter, Brooke, 37, shared in a March Instagram post that she was not in contact with her father, nor her mother, Linda. The retired wrestling champion hasn’t commented on the same.

Edited by Divya Singh