Joe Rogan, who's been marred in controversy over misinformation and racist language on his podcast, claims he's the victim of a 'political hit job'.
The Joe Rogan Experience has been the subject of criticism for years, but it came to a head recently when Neil Young led a boycott of Spotify over Rogan's podcast, requesting his music be removed from the streaming platform. Joni Mitchell followed suit, and this was before India Arie asked to pull her music and podcasts over the host's 'language around race'.
At first, Rogan promised to 'do better' and 'do my best in future to balance things out' with topics like COVID-19. Then, he apologised for using the n-word, describing it as 'the most regretful and shameful thing I’ve ever had to talk about publicly'. Now, he's alleged he's being targeted in a 'political hit job'.
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On the latest episode of the podcast yesterday, February 8, Rogan further addressed the backlash surrounding him. 'In a lot of ways, this is a relief. That video had always been out there. This is a political hit job. They’re taking all this stuff I’ve ever said that’s wrong and smushing it all together. It’s good because it makes me address some stuff that I really wish wasn’t out there,' he said.
Talking to his guest Akaash Singh, Rogan continued, 'You just have to stay offline... life goes on, as normal', to which Singh replied, 'Real life is people who know you, and you’re a great guy. We’ve all said some wild sh*t, and you apologised, and owned that it’s wrong, good for you.'
Rogan then cited the recent criticism of Awkwafina, with some accusing her of using a 'blaccent' particularly in the early days of her career. 'I do think you have to be very careful to not apologise for nonsense... they were saying it was a ‘blaccent,’ which is - come on, man,' he said.
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Spotify quietly removed more than 110 episodes of Rogan's podcast at the request of the host and his team, although it's unclear exactly what was discussed between Rogan and his guests on those episodes.
While CEO Daniel Ek told employees he was 'deeply sorry', he said there's no plans to remove the podcast from the platform. 'I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer... cancelling voices is a slippery slope,' he said. Reminder: Spotify's deal with Rogan is estimated to be worth $100 million, so it's extremely unlikely his podcast will be scrapped.
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Cameron Frew