Joe Rogan Apologizes For Consistent And Widespread Use Of Racial Slur

Joe Rogan has apologized after a video – shared by Grammy-award winning artist India Arie – surfaced showing the podcast host, comedian and UFC commentator explicitly using the N-word on multiple occasions throughout the tenure of his podcast.

“He shouldn’t even be uttering the word. Don’t even say it, under any context. Don’t say it. That’s where I stand. I have always stood there,” India Arie said. In her condemnation of Rogan, Arie also followed Niel Young in removing her music catalogue from Spotify in protest.  The reasoning also is because of the monetary splits from streaming that the platform uses to re-invest in content, like Rogan’s, and in her opinion overall underpays artists. 

Arie also shared another clip from Rogan, this time telling a racist story that finished with him comparing Black people to characters in the film Planet of the Apes.

Rogan responded to the stitched together video and controversy in a detailed video on his Instagram page.

Key quote

“It’s a video that’s made of clips taken out of context of me of 12 years of conversations on my podcast. It’s all smushed together and it looks f——— horrible, even to me,” Rogan said. 

“I know that to most people, there’s no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word, never mind publicly on a podcast. And I agree with that now,” Rogan said.

“But for a long time when I would bring that word up, like if it would come up in conversation, instead of saying ‘the n-word’ I would just say the word. I thought as long as it was in context, people would understand what I was doing,” he added.

Rogan specifically stated, “I never used it to be racist.”

“It’s not my word to use. I’m well aware of that now, but for years I used it in that manner,” he said.

“My sincere and humble apologies, I wish there was more that I could say. All of this is just me talking from the bottom of my heart. Makes me sick watching that video,” Rogan said. “Hopefully some you will accept this and understand where I’m coming from.”

The embattled podcast host was still reeling from the protest that started on Rogan’s key role in circulating COVID-19 misinformation on his podcast through some of his guests and his viewpoints, often contrary to the advice from the CDC. 

Analysis

Part of the problem in Rogan’s sometimes one-sided commentary is that the comedian hasn’t seemed to realize his change in broadcasting status. Rogan has evolved from an armchair commentator talking about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, DMT, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and the world at large with some of his close friends, to being effectively a thought-leader and a mini network with a substantial following. Harboring a place where top-tier individuals such as Elon Musk, Mike Tyson, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Lance Armstrong have all been called guests.

In this change, Rogan seems to have grossly underestimated the reach he now has across the world. This has led to people now putting his past and present actions under heavy scrutiny. His rhetoric included in that. It comes across that Rogan sometimes feels he can still be that armchair commentator, but similarly to a small indie star becoming a global megastar, those days are long gone for him. 

I watched an episode of the Joe Rogan Podcast where Rogan, Joey Diaz and two other white guests discussed the use of the N-word and when it was acceptable to say, whilst saying the slur with no reticence whatsoever. The optics alone made for tough viewing but the standpoint from the group on when the notorious curse word was allowed to be used also came across to me as highly ignorant and quite arrogant.

Rogan aimed to defend himself around the use of the word saying he was many times quoting famous comedians such as Paul Mooney, Richard Pryor, and Lenny Bruce, or discussing the phrase in regards to its widespread inclusion in Quentin Tarantino movies. However oftentimes it was uttered brazenly and without any hesitation, sometimes in multiples. 

Following Arie’s posts going viral, author Don Winslow asked Dwayne Johnson to address Rogan’s newest controversy after the Hollywood star seemed to support Rogan in his response around the COVID-19 misinformation scandal. Johnson responded to Winslow in part writing, “I hear you as well as everyone here 100%. I was not aware of his N-word use prior to my comments, but now I’ve become educated to his complete narrative. Learning moment for me.”

The commentator has professed that he only aims to talk to people and never purposefully goes out to insult or cause harm. An analyst recently countered this in regards to the ongoing Rogan situation, and the individual himself, describing the host as a “menace hiding under the facade of a clown.”