The last few months haven't been smooth for The Joe Budden Podcast. After Rory and Mal's sudden departure from the podcast in March, many fans theorized that the two co-hosts would no longer be returning to work on the podcast. However, during the last week of April, Joe Budden, Rory, and Mal all reunited for the 435th JBP episode "Shaking the Tree."
The trio followed that podcast up at the top of May with Episode 436 "The Floor Is Yours," but today, it appears that the JBP has hit another bump in the road, as leaked audio from the 437th episode has made its way across the internet.
In the messy audio, Joe Budden can be heard ranting about Rory and Mal's inability to secure deals for the podcast, and he also slams them for bringing "dark energy, arrogance, and entitlement" to the show. Joe also reveals that they have been telling their "representation" to contact Budden's manager Ian Schwartzman to look over contracts.
The wildest part of the entire rant comes later on, when Joe Budden absolutely rips Rory, saying, "Since Rory feels like he has so many options here, somehow he still feels like he's running the show. He feels like he's entitled to more. Rory, you are in breach of your contract. And from this point forward, you are fired, and you are not welcome back."
While the audio confirms that Rory has been fired, the rest of his words towards Mal are cut off. Many fans have already caught wind of Joe's scathing rant, and of course, much of their opinions on the matter are split. While many have been pointing the finger at Joe Budden and citing his tendency to sabotage great working relationships, others have placed the blame on Rory and Mal for "overplaying" their hands throughout all of the JBP drama over the past month.
In response to the public commentary surrounding this unexpected development, Joe Budden has been sounding off on Twitter in a series of tweets and responses to other users. Starting off by writing, "Helluva run!! God bless," the host began interacting with fans. Over a slew of tweets, Joe confirmed that his days working with Rory are "100000%" over with, reiterated that he could shut down anything that he started, and agreed that Ice and Ish, who stepped in during Mal and Rory's hiatus, should think twice before going into business with him.
https://twitter.com/_/status/1392428299780083712
https://twitter.com/_/status/1392438504660033547
https://twitter.com/_/status/1392439342623244291
https://twitter.com/_/status/1392459743143337986
The final nail in the coffin arrives when Joe tweets, "No, it’s time for it to STOP being given thought.... There are millions of podcasts, ppl will survive."
Judging from Joe Budden's Twitter activity early Wednesday, May 12, it appears that Rory and Mal's departure from the podcast will permanent. Now, fans of The Joe Budden Podcast will have to stay tuned to see if Joe continues the podcast without them or retires the show completely. For now, curious fans can listen to Episode 437 on Joe Budden's Patreon.
Will you miss The Joe Budden Podcast's long-running cast of Joe, Rory, and Mal? Or do you think that the podcast has run its course?