Former Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson spoke out in favor of Joe Rogan regarding his recent Spotify controversy, saying the podcaster should talk about “whatever he damn well pleases.”
Williamson made the comments on Twitter on Sunday in response to ongoing controversy regarding Rogan’s programs on COVID-19.
“I’m triple vaxxed, but (unless they’re standing for hate or calling for violence) banning someone’s podcast is too much like burning a book to me. Joe Rogan should talk on his podcast about whatever he damn well pleases,” Williamson wrote.
I'm triple vaxxed, but (unless they're standing for hate or calling for violence) banning someone's podcast is too much like burning a book to me. Joe Rogan should talk on his podcast about whatever he damn well pleases.
— Marianne Williamson (@marwilliamson) January 31, 2022
Williamson, who ran against President Joe Biden during the 2020 Democratic primary, is best known as the bestselling author of the book “A Return to Love.”
“It seems so clear to me that a nation thrives when the majority of its people thrive. It’s the essence of a democratic as opposed to an aristocratic worldview,” Williamson stated in another recent tweet.
It seems so clear to me that a nation thrives when the majority of its people thrive. It's the essence of a democratic as opposed to an aristocratic worldview.
— Marianne Williamson (@marwilliamson) January 28, 2022
Williamson has not necessarily sided with more moderate Democratic policies. Instead, she has supported freedom of speech over partisan politics.
The Daily Wire reported last week about Neil Young demanding Spotify remove Joe Rogan or remove his own music:
Young issued a now-deleted message to his management team and record label telling them to “refuse the music streaming service access to his catalog of albums until they cut ties with podcast host Joe Rogan.”
“Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule,” Young wrote.
“I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform,” he said. “They can have [Joe] Rogan or Young. Not both.”
“With an estimated 11 million listeners per episode, JRE, which is hosted exclusively on Spotify, is the world’s largest podcast and has tremendous influence,” the letter continued. “Spotify has a responsibility to mitigate the spread of misinformation on its platform, though the company presently has no misinformation policy.”
Spotify responded by agreeing to remove Young’s music as requested. In addition, the streaming platform announced it will include a disclaimer at the beginning of programs about COVID-19.
Rogan responded with a video on Instagram to address the changes.
“I’m just a person who sits down and talks to people and has conversations with them. Do I get things wrong? Absolutely. I get things wrong, but I try to correct them. Whenever I get something wrong. I try to correct it because I’m interested in telling the truth. I’m interested in finding out what the truth is. And I’m interested in having interesting conversations with people that have differing opinions. I’m not interested in only talking to people that have one perspective,” he said.
Rogan agreed with the new disclaimer and said he plans to attempt a better balance in future programs.
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