It’s been quite a week-and-a-half for Joe Rogan. The NewsRadio alum-turned-controversial podcaster is singlehandedly responsible for a growing exodus from the streamer Spotify, with artists demanding their music be removed over his repeated spreading of dangerous COVID misinformation. (Staffers are also very unhappy.) He’s done the unexpected and apologized for his actions, and on Friday night he was on mea culpa duty again, this time for another infraction.
As per Page Six, a video went viral on Friday showing a compilation of Rogan dropping the N-word — said in full every time — over and over again on The Joe Rogan Experience. It was even shared by India.Arie, one of the artists who joined the likes of Neil Young and Joni Mitchell in demanding Spotify erase their work.
It prompted Rogan to again take to Instagram to record a video apology. In it, he called the video “the most regretful and shameful thing I’ve ever had to talk about publicly.” Though he pointed out the clips were “out of context” bits spanning “12 years of conversations,” he did admit it “looks f*cking horrible. Even to me.”
He continued: “I know that to most people, there is no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word, nevermind publicly on a podcast, and I agree with that now. I haven’t said it in years.”
Rogan did claim that he never used the word in a racist manner, that he was only using it in the context of whatever conversation he was having. But, he admitted, it was a mistake not to censor himself: “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.”
The word, he said, was fascinating to him. “It’s a very unusual word, but it’s not my word to use,” Rogan said. “I never used it to be racist, because I’m not racist, but whenever you’re in a situation where you have to say ‘I’m not racist,’ you’ve f–ked up, and I clearly have f–cked up.”
He also addressed a clip of him discussing visiting a Black neighborhood in Philadelphia, which he described as “Planet of the Apes.” “I was trying to make the story entertaining,” Rogan said. “I did not, nor did I ever say that black people are apes, but it sure f*cking sounded like that.” He added, “It wasn’t a racist story, but it sounded terrible.”
After Rogan’s first apology on Sunday, artists continued to leave Spotify in protest. He’s had a few defenders, though, most prominently Jon Stewart.
(Via Page Six)