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Bubba the Love Sponge hit with restraining order for domestic violence

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Bubba the Love Sponge Clem, the well-known and controversial Tampa radio shock-jock, is once again facing legal action, this time by a former girlfriend seeking an injunction for domestic violence.

In a complaint filed Feb. 23 in Pinellas County Circuit Court, Nicole Maria “Nikki” L’Ange – also known as Nikki Lange — says she first met Bubba in 2002 and later lived with him at his home in St. Petersburg. L’Ange was a merchandise/event coordinator at Beasley Media Group, which carries the Bubba radio show.

L’Ange claims that throughout the four years they were living together, she suffered violence at the hands of Clem, but this was the first time she sought a restraining order. L’Ange says Clem “once got on top of me and strangled me, which I have pictures,” hit her in the back of the head “to get my attention,” threw her to the ground and threatened to hurt her if she left or contact the police.

L’Ange’s LinkedIn bio shows she stopped working at Beasley in January 2017, suggesting L’Ange’s job was possibly connected to Bubba’s. In a YouTube video uploaded January 2015, Clem videotaped himself coming home from work, showing an aggravated L’Ange cleaning dishes in the sink.

After she finally left, L’Ange says Clem allegedly continued harassing her, her father and friends, texting her father that “he’s sorry he has a daughter like her.” Clem is also accused of preventing L’Ange from obtaining unemployment benefits, canceling her health insurance, and vowing to ruin both her and her new boyfriend’s business.

Clem allegedly “spoke ill” of L’Ange on his radio show, instructing listeners to “say awful things” about her.

“He is completely unstable,” she says in her petition, “and has a horrible temper.” L’Ange filed the injunction without the help of an attorney.

L’Ange is asking the court to keep Clem away from her, her family, friends and new boyfriend.

Over the years, the 50-year-old Clem, previously known as Todd Alan Clem, has been involved in several lawsuits and legal action throughout the Tampa Bay area.

In 2011, Clem, owner of the Bubba Radio Network, Inc., sued then-wife Heather Dawn Clem for divorce. Later, both Heather and Bubba made national headlines, when a 2006 sex tape involving Heather and pro-wrestler Hulk Hogan was leaked to the gossip website Gawker. Clem and Hogan settled a related lawsuit out of court.

Ten years earlier, Clem faced animal cruelty charges after an on-air castration and slaughter of a pig, of which he was later acquitted. In 2004, he was fired by Clear Channel Communications after amassing $755,000 in Federal Communications Commission fines for indecent behavior.

In 2013, Clem also successfully sued rival radio DJ Todd Schnitt for defamation.

However, Clem’s recent radio career is also struggling.

Beasley Media Group, a subsidiary of Beasley Broadcast Group, dropped Bubba’s show in January from Tampa’s WBRN-FM 98.7, leaving his show only on WRXK-FM 98-Rock in Fort Myers.

Beginning Feb. 13, the Bubba show was picked up by Tampa’s WWBA-AM 820.

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