In the wake of the controversy swirling around Joe Rogan’s podcast and its exclusive home on Spotify, the outspoken comedian-turned-talk show host offered a mea culpa by way of an Instagram video last week.
Now, former President Donald Trump has offered Rogan his own big of advice, by way of a statement Monday night: “Stop apologizing” to the “lunatics” who have been critical of Rogan’s program for reasons that run the gamut from spreading misinformation about the COVID pandemic to past casual use of racial slurs.
“Joe Rogan is an interesting and popular guy, but he’s got to stop apologizing to the Fake News and Radical Left maniacs and lunatics,” Trump wrote. “How many ways can you say you’re sorry? Joe, just go about what you do so well and don’t let them make you look weak and frightened.”
“That’s not you and it will never be!” Trump wrote in conclusion.
One of Rogan’s apologies came Saturday after a video montage compiled from clips of “The Joe Rogan Experience” featuring multiple instances of Rogan using the N-word went viral.
“There’s nothing I can do to take that back. I wish I could. Obviously, that’s not possible,” Rogan said in response to the clip. “I certainly wasn’t trying to be racist, and I certainly would never want to offend someone for entertainment with something as stupid as racism.”
Rogan had earlier this month offered a separate apology after multiple musicians asked Spotify to remove their works from the audio app’s library rather than share a platform with Rogan because of the host’s history of amplifying COVID misinformation on his show.
“If I p—ed you off, I’m sorry,” Rogan said. “I’m not trying to promote misinformation. I’m not trying to be controversial … I’ve never tried to do anything with this podcast other than just talk to people and have interesting conversations.”
So far, Spotify has stood by Rogan. The company’s CEO Daniel Ek informed staffers in an internal memo that, while he understands their frustration in dealing with customers angered by Rogan’s program, he didn’t see the upside in “canceling” Rogan, though over 70 episodes featuring inflammatory content were removed from the show’s Spotify archive.
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