Joe Rogan has been hit with backlash after he claimed one controversial slur was 'back' and described it as 'one of the great culture victories' just seconds into one of his latest podcast episodes.
While some controversial figures might claim that humanity is becoming 'too sensitive', slurs are considered slurs for a reason.
The words can insult and offend certain communities, and as a result many of them, including the one used by Rogan on his recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, are no longer considered acceptable to use.
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However, after welcoming stand-up comedian Dave Smith and political commentator Douglas Murray on to his podcast last week, Rogan took less than a minute to casually slip a slur into his conversation with his two guests.
Shortly after the show began, Rogan used the word 'r****ded', before adding: "We were just talking about it. The word r****ded is back and it's one of the great culture victories that I think is spurred on probably by podcasts."
The term has a background in medical language, which previously referred to 'intellectual disability' as 'mental re***dation'.
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In 2013, the term was updated in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), which is responsible for naming, defining, and describing mental disorders.
In the years since the word fell out of favor in the medical world, it has also become an insult towards people with mental and intellectual disabilities.
After the podcast was shared online, Rogan was hit with widespread backlash from members of the public criticizing his use of, and comments surrounding, the word.
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Maureen McCormick, who famously played Marcia Brady on The Brady Bunch, tagged Rogan on Twitter as she shared her disapproval of his comments.
She wrote: "Your statement that 'the ‘R’ word is back and it’s one of the great culture victories,' ignores the terrible hurt it causes to the millions of people with intellectual disabilities. This is not a victory. It is a regression."
Another Twitter user wrote: "As the father of a beautiful autistic son, there’s no word that makes me angrier."
Responding to users who had shared the clip of Rogan, a third person commented: "So do any of you have a special needs child? Some find it really offensive, just saying. Society doesn’t care about the disabled."
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Rogan is widely known to be a controversial figure, having previously alleged you can 'can never be woke enough' as he spoke about the changing culture.
Emily Brown