How infamous shock jock went from the king of Florida radio to having to borrow money from neighbors

Once a beacon on FM radio across the country, Bubba the Love Spong is now doing shows on the not so big FM 98.3 in Pinellas County

Bubba the Love Sponge was once Florida's boisterous equivalent to Howard Stern, hosting one of the state's largest radio shows and making up to $2million a year.

But his place among the radio elite came to a screeching halt after he was involved in a Nielsen rating scandal and secretly filmed former best friend - wrestling icon Hulk Hogan - having sex with his wife.

'There's really nothing you can say to take me down further than I already am,' he explained to the Tampa Bay Times in an extensive interview. 

Once a beacon on FM radio across the country, Bubba is now doing shows on the considerable smaller FM 98.3 in Pinellas County. In Tampa, he's now on AM 820 and still has thousands of listeners online through bubbarmyradio.com.

His downfall began with a decision to betray his friend, wrestler Hulk Hogan, having sex with the DJ's wife, Heather Clem, while the wrestler stayed in their home's guest suite in 2006.

For years all was quiet, until the tape leaked and was published by now-defunct gossip site Gawker.

The leak resulted in Bubba getting fired and Hogan winning a record-breaking $140million from Gawker which resulted in its closure. Hogan has moves in the work against other parties, but has taken no legal action against his former pal.

Back in 2006, Bubba secretly recorded Hulk Hogan having sex with the DJ's wife, Heather Clem, while the wrestler stayed in their guest suite

In late July, Bubba reached a settlement for a ratings tampering lawsuit from Nielsen. 

The 2015 lawsuit had been asking for $1million. Bubba was said to have texted a Nielsen panelist 'I need u more than ever,' while working with Tampa's WBRN-FM 98.7 

Since then, he has lost stations in Ocala, Orlando and even in Reno, Nevada. 

He even joked with Stern that he'd lost his house.

'Someone told me you're living in a trailer,' Stern asked on his show, 'Is that true?'

'Yeah, it's, it's, yeah… I lost my house,' Bubba replied. 'I lost it. Million dollar legal fee on this other whodunit that I did. It's just, gah …'

In fact, Bubba still owns his St. Petersburg estate. He listed the 6,367-sq-ft home up for sale for a hefty $1.3million. 

The home is pratically empty, with a majority of Bubba's possessions fitting inside boxes that are stored in the garage - along with a copy of his federal trademark on the '12 boobs of Christmas.' 

Records indicate that the 52 year old - whose birth name is Todd Clem - owes $47,000 in past due property taxes and an additional $200,000 to the IRS as of August 2018. 

While he joked with Howard Stern about allegedly living in a trailer, Bubba still owns his St. Petersburg estate

He listed the 6,367-sq-ft home up for sale for a hefty $1.3million

In September, Bubba tried to put the mansion up for auction - starting at $900,000 - but got no bids on the home. He had to give away his rescue pit-bull, 10-year-old Peaches, because he couldn't afford to take care of her.

'This is hard for me to admit, but ... I've had my water turned off,' he explained. 'I had to go to my neighbor, Richard Fabrizi, just to borrow a few hundred bucks to get it turned on.' 

Bubba admits to not being financially smart about his money and blowing millions while losing the rest paying for his divorce and lawyers. 

He added: 'If someone would just put me on a real sexy station, you'd see. It would be the biggest comeback of all time.' 

The sentiment was shared by co-host Mike 'Manson' Waters, who felt that Bubba could be in store for an epic comeback. 

'The show's better than it has ever been,' he stated. 'But we've pretty much burned through all the major radio companies in this town.' 

RELATED ARTICLES

• Previous
• 1
• Next

• Single fingerprint led FBI to 'MAGAbomber':... Tekashi's beef at the Chinese: Armed man shoots rapper's...

Share this article

Bubba has taken responsibility for his role in both the Nielsen scandal and the betrayal of his best friend. 

But the personality shared his disdain with his show's prominence and blamed one crucial party - Bubba show intern-turned-employee Mike Calta.  

Bubba claims that Calta - who took Bubba’s coveted morning time slot after the host was fired - and Matt Loyd, known as Spice Boy, leaked the Hogan sex tape so that he would lose his job.

Bubba admits to not being financially smart about his money and blowing millions while losing the rest paying for his divorce and lawyers

The personality shared his disdain with his show's prominence and blamed one crucial party - Bubba show intern-turned-employee Mike Calta

Calta, Loyd and Cox Radio Inc. are all listed as defendants in the current lawsuit brought by Hogan, which also mentions the wrestler's use of n****r. He alleges that Calta and Loyd used Hogan as a way to get back at Bubba while all three worked at Cox's 102.5 The Bone.

Calta, Loyd and Cox Radio Inc. are all listed as defendants in the current lawsuit brought by Hogan, which also mentions the wrestler's use of n****r. He alleges that Calta and Loyd used Hogan as a way to get back at Bubba while all three worked at Cox's 102.5 The Bone. 

Calta was found to have sent several 2012 emails to his agent, Tony Burton, with clear instructions on how to get the material to Gawker 'anonimously.' Loyd, on the other hand, is said to have sold clips to both TMZ and thedirty.com. 

Bubba is watching the case very closely, hoping Calta gets axed from Cox because of the role he played (pictured with Stormy Daniels in 2008)

After Gawker's release of the tape, Loyd was said to have enlisted Los Angeles attorney Keith Davidson in an effort to extort $300,000 from Hogan for the n-word usage. 

Tampa police became involved once Bubba started getting alarming tweets from an anonymous source, prompting the officers to speak to Loyd. 

According to a police report, Loyd admitted that he wanted Bubba 'to squirm,' and added that 'He is a very bad man and has a lot of connections ... I have seen him make a phone call and get people arrested.' 

It was concluded that Loyd stole the DVDs from Bubba's office but Hillsborough County prosecutors didn't file any charges against him. 

Hogan blames Cox - which owns 61 stations - of fostering Tampa's 'shock jock culture' and the 'sordid history' of 'unlawful activity,' 'resentment' and 'desire for revenge.' 

Bubba is watching the case very closely, hoping Calta gets axed from Cox because of the role he played. 

'I've lost pretty much my entire radio business and he's got my show. I can't,' he said.

Today, the radio personality spends almost every weekend at the Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala

Accepting his own role, Bubba feels that Calta got away easy. 

Bubba added: 'If I've been dealt this hand, I shouldn't be the only one. Maybe both of us deserve to be done.' 

Today, the radio personality spends almost every weekend at the Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala. He brought so a driver named Tyler could practice. 

While it doesn't bring in a lot of money, Bubba does make a hefty profit on Saturdays when a couple hundred people pay $14 to watch eaces. 

He drives a tractor around the track for hours in an effort to make the dirt suitable for racing. He calls it an 'artform.' 

His foundation - named after him - helps raise money for families of slain officers.

'I have about 10 families I'm responsible for,' Bubba said of his current work. 'There's a tremendous amount of pressure.' 

While it doesn't bring in a lot of money, Bubba does make a hefty profit on Saturdays when a couple hundred people pay $14 to watch races

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCmmZmhe6S7ja6iaKaVrMBwrdGtoJyklWKDdH6RcGxyZ3ikxG61zZ%2BYpqelqHq0tM6coqOnk6B6uLHNrWSkoZ6ceoe4zqugnZldp66ltc5mn5qumaO0bq7Oq6mor12ivK%2Bx2GalnqGXna%2BwvtJnn62lnA%3D%3D