On Tuesday night, iconic podcaster Joe Rogan, who had the #1 most-listened to podcast globally on Spotify in 2021, responded on his podcast to the video compilation of him using the N-word, saying bluntly, “This is a political hit job.”
“Last Friday, Spotify pulled 70 episodes of ‘The Joe Rogan Experience from its platform, dating from 2009 to 2018, which the streamer said it did at the request of Rogan and his team. That came after singer India Arie last week said she was pulling her music and podcasts off Spotify, citing Rogan’s ‘language around race’; she reposted a video on Instagram compiling 24 times Rogan used the N-word on his podcast, and the resurfaced clip soon went viral,” Variety reported.
Speaking with his guest, comedian Akaash Singh, Rogan asserted, “In a lot of ways, all this is a relief, ’cause that video had always been out there. It’s like, this is a political hit job. And so they’re taking all this stuff that I’ve ever said that’s wrong, and smushing it all together. But it’s good ’cause it makes me address some s*** that I really wish wasn’t out there.”
Singh commented, “You know why I’m proud of you? Because I think comedians have for years done this immature thing where it’s like we don’t apologize. We say whatever we want. You can apologize if you say some wild s*** and we’ve all said some wild s*** and you apologized and owned that it was wrong. Good for you.”
“You should apologize if you regret something,” Rogan stated. “This idea that you should never apologize, like if you regret something, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with apologizing. But I do think you have to be very careful not to apologize for nonsense.”
He cited Awkwafina’s statement last week regarding her use of a “blaccent,” in which she stated, “As a non-black POC, I stand by the fact that I will always listen and work tirelessly to understand the history and context of AAVE, what is deemed appropriate or backwards towards the progress of ANY and EVERY marginalized group. But I must emphasize: to mock, belittle or to be unkind in any way possible at the expense of others is: Simply. Not. My. Nature. It never has, and it never was.”
Rogan commented, “They were saying it was a ‘blaccent,’ which is — come on, man.”
“I think you just have to be yourself. I really do,” Rogan said later. “And all this nonsense of worrying what your base is, is crazy. It’s like, ‘Who are you?’ You are you. If you start thinking I have to be who these other people want me to be because they’re the ones that make me popular, you’re f*****.”
Former police officer and political commentator Brandon Tatum, who is black, commented earlier this week regarding Rogan, saying, “If you had no ill intentions when you said the word, they can kiss your — you know what. … Everybody knows you’re not racist. You’ve got people of all races and demographics that watch your show — I watch your show all the time … Nobody in their right mind thinks Joe Rogan is racist.”