Joe Rogan apologizes for N-word use


Podcast host Joe Rogan posted an apology video, his second in less than a week, to Instagram early Saturday morning, addressing a viral compilation video that showed him repeatedly using the N-word on his show, Fox News reported.
Rogan clarified that he only used the word in quotations or when discussing its sociolinguistic significance.
"I haven't said it in years. But for a long time, when I would bring that word up, if it would come up in conversations, instead of saying 'the N-word,' I would just say the word," Rogan said. He offered his "sincere, deepest apologies" and said watching the compilation made him feel "sick."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
He also apologized for comparing a Black neighborhood he visited to the Planet of the Apes film franchise.
Since Friday, Spotify has removed 113 episodes of Rogan's podcast, The New York Post reports.
The compilation video went viral after musician India Arie, who joined fellow artists Neil Young and Joni Mitchell in pulling her music from Spotify, shared it on her Instagram story Friday. It appears, however, that the video originated on Jan. 30 on the Twitter account PatriotTakes, which posts content critical of the political right and, according to its Twitter bio, is "[p]artnered with" the left-leaning Super PAC MediasTouch.
Public figures and former podcast guests including Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), political commentator Ben Shapiro, journalist Bari Weiss, and conservative YouTuber Blaire White all leaped to Rogan's defense.
Rogan, who signed a $100 million deal with Spotify in 2020 giving the platform exclusive distribution rights to his mega-hit podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, has been under fire in recent weeks for interviewing guests who have been accused of spreading COVID-19 misinformation.
Rogan said on Jan. 30 that he would "balance things out."
The controversial interviews with doctors Robert Malone and Peter McCullough about COVID-19 are still available on Spotify.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
What does 'conquering' Gaza mean to Israel?
Today's Big Question Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet has approved a plan to displace much of the Palestinian population while seizing and occupying the territory on a long-term basis.
-
Casey Means: the controversial 'wellness influencer' nominated for surgeon general
In the Spotlight Means has drawn controversy for her closeness to RFK Jr.
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'
-
Trump is not sure he must follow the Constitution
speed read When asked about due process for migrants in a TV interview, President Trump said he didn't know whether he had to uphold the Fifth Amendment