Joe Rogan called out CNN’s news model during his Thursday podcast, calling on the network to “f***ing change your model” and report “objective news.”
Rogan expressed the comments in a program with comedian Dave Smith that blasted CNN’s coverage of the podcaster using “horse dewormer” to fight COVID-19 after he said he was taking Ivermectin.
“My thoughts for CNN, my advice to them — I don’t hate CNN. I used to go to them every day for the news before they started f***ing hating on me,” Rogan said.
“If you want to do better, just f*cking change your model. Change the way you do it,” he added.
Rogan specifically condemned CNN hosts Brian Stelter and Don Lemon in his response.
“Stop this editorial perspective with guys like Brian Stelter and Don Lemon that nobody listens to. Nobody is chiming in saying ‘oh yeah, finally we get the voice of reason.’ Nobody thinks that,” Rogan said.
The response follows Rogan being discussed on multiple recent CNN programs. On Wednesday, CNN host Alisyn Camerota admitted, “Well I admit I’m out of ideas for what to do about Joe Rogan. I’m officially out of ideas.”
Alisyn Camerota is "officially out of ideas" for "what to do about Joe Rogan." pic.twitter.com/3zyYIV3RBK
— Caleb Howe (@CalebHowe) February 9, 2022
Last week, CNN weekend anchor Jim Acosta and media correspondent Brian Stelter issued their own lofty statements regarding Rogan. The Daily Wire reported that Acosta stated:
You and I both know that compilation right there, which he has admitted to … that would be enough to put anybody out of a job. I mean, to me, it seems untenable to have that kind of video surface, that kind of compilation surface and keep one’s job … Joe Rogan can continue to host his podcast if people want to listen to it, they can, but it doesn’t have to be on Spotify.
Stelter added, “Companies like Spotify, Facebook, Twitter, they present themselves just as platforms, neutral platforms. But actually, Spotify, in this case is a media company getting in business to distribute Rogan. They don’t have to be in that business. I want to recognize there are reasons why Rogan has lots of fans, millions of fans. People want to hear his candid conversations, but there’s a difference between that, between candid, in-depth conversations, and the kind of vile that’s in this compilation.”
The searing words from Rogan also follow a series of scandals at CNN in recent months. Most recently, now-former CNN President Jeff Zucker resigned after revealing he had been in a relationship with another executive at the network that had not been previously disclosed.
Chris Cuomo, brother of former New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was fired from the network in December following information that revealed he had helped advise his brother regarding a sexual harassment scandal involving multiple women while he was in office.
Now-former CNN senior producer John Griffin was also arrested in December for alleged child sex crimes.
Griffin “sought to persuade parents to allow him to train their daughters to be sexually submissive,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Vermont wrote in a statement. The indictment alleges Griffin “sexually trained girls as young as 7 years old,” the statement added.