“It’s not real racism, it’s a joke” are the infamous words uttered by American comedian Joe Rogan in response to negative feedback over his Bernie Sanders endorsement. From interviewing conspiracy theorists to a comedian accused of sexual impropriety, Joe Rogan is notorious for his controversial opinions and interview subjects.
Last October Rogan controversially hit the headlines again when his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, was included on the Spotify collection. The move saw many users of the streaming platform cancelling their subscription in protest.
While, the streaming giant handpicked some of Rogan’s less controversial interviews to include in their collection, they were still forced to defend their choice to feature him.
“Spotify has always been a place for creative expressions. It’s important to have diverse voices and points of view on our platform,” was released on a memo from one of Spotify’s executives. “We are not going to ban specific individuals from being guests on other people’s shows, as the episode/show complies with our content policies,” was another.
Here, we look at three of Joe Rogan’s most controversial interviews ever.
Alex Jones
Perhaps one of the world’s most well known conspiracy theorists is Alex Jones, a radio show host and founder of the website InfoWars. Spotify had formerly banned Jones from their content for creating “hate content” in the form of spreading rumors surrounding a school shooting in the US. However, Rogan interviewed him for his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience and uploaded the interview anyway.
The move was met with uproar by leftwing US media campaign group Sleeping Giants who tweeted: “Congrats on paying 100 million dollars for the privilege of platforming a man who terrorized Sandy Hook parents, Spotify … This isn’t edgy. It’s disgusting.”
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During the interview Rogans ‘fact checked’ Jones on a bunch of his wildest conspiracy theories and said that most of what Jone’s said was actually true, letting Jones spread misinformation.
Kanye West
Pretty much all interviews involving Kanye West tend to err towards the bat shit crazy side. The three hour long interview with Rogan was no exception. During the podcast some pearlers were revealed such as ‘Ye revealing that he believes God called him to be the leader of the free world in the shower.
Here’s a few of the wildest quotes that left Kanye’s lips during the interview:
“I was thinking about buying my masters and I realized that that was too small of a thought. I’m going to buy Universal. They’re only a $33 billion organization. I’m one of the greatest product producers that ever existed.”
“I think very three-dimensionally. I don’t think in the black-and-white lines that I’ve been programmed to think in. And I think in full color, so when I talk, I have to describe a thought in five ways. We enjoy food that has multiple seasonings in it. We enjoy music that has multiple instruments. So when I talk, it’s not a rant, it’s a symphony of ideas, and when you collect that, you say, ‘Oh these are these things that connect.’ I just tell the truth, and telling the truth is crazy in a world full of lies.”
“I’m Christian, so I’m pro-life Pro-Life”
Mike Tyson
The entire chat between Mike Tyson and Joe Rogan basically all associated around drugs. During the chat Tyson revealed that he took acid at the age of 11, has been smoking weed since he was 10 and that he has a ranch where he grows his own strain of marijuana.
“Without weed I don’t like who I am sometimes. That’s just real,” Tyson shared. “It makes me nicer, it calms me down.”
