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Topics: Celebrity, Joe Rogan, Spotify, no-article-matching
Emily Brown
Basic Instinct star Sharon Stone has slammed Joe Rogan for 'risking people’s lives with his idiocy' after the podcast host received backlash for his comments on COVID-19.
Rogan has been widely accused of spreading misinformation on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, so much so that a number of artists have chosen to remove their music from Spotify in protest at the show being available on the streaming service.
Spotify has not made any moves to remove Rogan from the platform, but CEO Daniel Ek responded to the backlash with a new plan to clamp down on misinformation, including adding content advisories to any podcast episode discussing COVID-19.
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Rogan himself said he would strive to do his 'best to make sure [he's] researched these topics' and try harder to get people with 'differing opinions' on his podcast, however the moves have not proved sufficient for Stone, who spoke about the podcast host during an interview with TMZ.
After pointing out that she is an infectious disease worker who has worked for decades alongside Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, Stone stressed, 'COVID is not an opinion-based situation.'
She continued, 'Mr. Rogan is risking people's lives with his idiocy and his professing [that] his thoughts about COVID are opinions. They aren't opinions. COVID and infectious diseases are science, and they are fact-based situations. So the pretense that these are opinions is dangerous, and his behaviour is dangerous.'
Stone went on to express her belief that Rogan 'should put a disclaimer that he's an a**hole, and that his behaviour is dangerous and affecting people's lives and deaths'.
The actor and activist also stressed that her opinions come from her 'experience working in crowded laboratories with people who risk their lives to save other people's lives'.
Stone's interview came after she showed her support to Neil Young, who was the first to announce the removal of his music from Spotify. In a post on Twitter, the 63-year-old said she had decided to cancel her Spotify account 'in the name of truth'.
As well as working in infectious diseases, Stone was personally affected by coronavirus when she lost both her grandmother and godmother to the virus. Her sister and brother-in-law were also hospitalised as a result of the outbreak.
While responding to the backlash against him, Rogan acknowledged that he is not a 'doctor' or a 'scientist', but claimed the guests he has had on his show are 'highly credentialed, very intelligent, very accomplished people'.
If you’ve been affected by coronavirus and want up to date advice, visit the Gov.uk help page here. If you need medical help call NHS 111 or visit online.