Podcaster Joe Rogan returned to stand-up comedy this week and mocked listeners who base their COVID-19 vaccine beliefs on his guidance.
A growing number of musicians and content creators have joined Neil Young in boycotting Spotify in protest at alleged coronavirus misinformation broadcast on the platform. Their issue stems from "The Joe Rogan Experience" allowing guests to share, what the musicians claim, is misinformation.
"I talk s**t for a living — that's why this is so baffling to me," Rogan said Tuesday night in Austin, Texas, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "If you're taking vaccine advice from me, is that really my fault?
"What dumb s**t were you about to do when my stupid idea sounded better? 'You know that dude who made people eat animal ***** on TV? How does he feel about medicine?' If you want my advice, don’t take my advice."
Rogan, in his first announced appearance since becoming embroiled in controversy, also addressed his use of racial slurs in clips of episodes over a 12-year span.
"I used to say it if [I was talking about] a Richard Pryor bit or something, I would say it in context," Rogan said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "Somebody made a compilation of every time I said that word over 14 years and they put it on YouTube, and it turned out that was racist as f**k. Even to me! I'm me and I’m watching it saying, 'Stop saying it!' I put my cursor over the video and I'm like, 'Four more minutes?!'
"I haven't used that word in years, but it's kind of weird people will get really mad if you use that word and tweet about it on a phone that's made by slaves," as he segued into a bit about overseas labor conditions.
During a post-show question-and-answer session, Rogan was asked if he would accept the $100 million offer from Rumble to move his show from Spotify
"No, Spotify has hung in with me, inexplicably," he said, The Hollywood Reporter reported. "Let's see what happens."
Earlier Tuesday, Rogan termed his recent controversies "a political hit job" in a new episode of his podcast.
"In a lot of ways, this is a relief," Rogan told his guest, comic Akaash Singh. "That video [of Rogan saying the N-word in his podcast over the years] 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."
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.