Joe Rogan has tackled some wildly unconventional gigs in his career, but hosting Fear Factor might just top the list. The iconic competition show, packed with death-defying stunts and stomach-turning challenges, was a TV sensation in its time.
However, there’s one stunt Rogan, despite his daredevil persona, openly admits he wasn’t a fan of. On a podcast episode, he spilled the behind-the-scenes tea on what really went down.
Joe Rogan Was Not on Board with This Wild Fear Factor Stunt!
Reality TV often follows a script, but Fear Factor was a different beast altogether, completely unpredictable and wild. No one, not even the contestants, could guess what awaited them during the insane stunts.
While every challenge was supervised by professionals, the show tapped into that little voice in viewers’ heads saying, “I could totally do that.” But could they really?
Even host Joe Rogan admitted one stunt pushed the limits for him: being yanked into the air by a bungee cord attached to a helicopter. Rogan shared the full scoop on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. He said,
I felt uncomfortable with a lot of it. We had this challenge with a tree with bungee cords that were attached to a helicopter, and they had to figure out the right lock to unlock the bungee cord, the straps that keep them to the tree. As soon as they undo the strap, they go shooting out into the space.
Despite that, it was an iconic show, to say the least, nothing quite like it had been done before. Although it was canceled rather quickly, fans who grew up watching it still remember it fondly.
Joe Rogan Regretted Returning to Fear Factor Despite the Big Paycheck!
Joe Rogan has often called hosting Fear Factor a mistake, predicting from the start that the show wouldn’t last due to its outrageous stunts. And he was right, it did not, the infamous donkey episode led to the show being pulled off the air.
Reflecting on it, Rogan admitted he was ready to move on, saying the stunts had simply gone too far. In a different podcast episode, he said,
When I was on season five of Fear Factor, I remember thinking, ‘I don’t know how much longer I can do this’. It was the same thing over and over again. We did 148 episodes. After a while, it was like, ‘Jesus Christ, how many animal d*cks can you serve people?’
In 2011 he returned to the show for a seventh season for a bigger paycheck, but instantly regretted the decision. He said,
We did Fear Factor for six years, and then we came back and did it for a final season in 2011. And they were pushing it way too far. It scared the sh** out of me.The stunts were way bigger, and that was part of the appeal…and while they were filming it, I was like ‘Man, I am f******* nervous.’ These stunts are so much more chaotic… The potential for injury is so much greater.
Reports suggest Joe Rogan earned a hefty $15 million during his time on Fear Factor, a decision he made to support his family. While it helped financially, the mental toll it took on him was significant, as he found himself enduring the same stress all over again. Still, fans are grateful he took the leap.
Fear Factor is streaming on Hulu.
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