Joe Rogan’s Apology is Risky

Spotify was already under pressure to fire the podcaster Joe Rogan, ostensibly on account of his alleged Covid misinformation. The Covid controversy sparked an exodus of Spotify artists including Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofgren, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Now, Rogan’s enemies have dug up an even more incendiary controversy. On her Instagram account, the artist India Arie shared a video compilation of Rogan using the N-word multiple times on various episodes of his podcast and drawing what appears to be a comparison between an all-black community and Planet of the Apes.

Rogan had already attempted to appease his Covid critics by offering assurances that he would do a better job to “balance” controversial topics and guests. In his statement, the streaming service’s chief executive Daniel Ek said the same. However, this latest accusation of racism betrays the previous Covid complaints for what they were: a pretext. The real reason Rogan’s critics want to silence him is because they don’t like his views and guests. And they will use whatever they find to bring him down.

About the Author

Madeleine Kearns

Madeleine Kearns is a former staff writer at National Review.

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Spotify was already under pressure to fire the podcaster Joe Rogan, ostensibly on account of his alleged Covid misinformation. The Covid controversy sparked an exodus of Spotify artists including Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofgren, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Now, Rogan’s enemies have dug up an even more incendiary controversy. On her Instagram account, the artist India Arie shared a video compilation of Rogan using the N-word multiple times on various episodes of his podcast and drawing what appears to be a comparison between an all-black community and Planet of the Apes.

Rogan had already attempted to appease his Covid critics by offering assurances that he would do a better job to “balance” controversial topics and guests. In his statement, the streaming service’s chief executive Daniel Ek said the same. However, this latest accusation of racism betrays the previous Covid complaints for what they were: a pretext. The real reason Rogan’s critics want to silence him is because they don’t like his views and guests. And they will use whatever they find to bring him down.