Joe Rogan addressed the backlash against him, dismissing the controversy as a "political hit job."
On the latest episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan spoke about the uproar over COVID-19 misinformation spread on his show and a compilation video showing him using racial slurs numerous times in the past.
"That video had always been out there," Rogan said. "This is a political hit job, and so they're taking all this stuff that I've ever said that's wrong and smushing it all together."
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Rogan added, though, that the controversy is "good" because it has made him "address some s---t that I really wish wasn't out there." He previously apologized for his past use of the N-word on his show, saying that 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." He also discussed this controversy in a stand-up set in Texas on Tuesday night, admitting the video compilation was "racist as f---," The Hollywood Reporter reports.
"I'm me and I'm watching it saying, 'Stop saying it!'" Rogan said. "I put my cursor over the video and I'm like, 'Four more minutes?"
During the stand-up set, he also joked about the backlash over COVID-19 misinformation on his show, which prompted musicians like Neil Young to pull their music from Spotify. The former Fear Factor host joked that the situation is "baffling to me" because "I talk s--- for a living," adding, "If you're taking vaccine advice from me, is that really my fault? What dumb s--- were you about to do when my stupid idea sounded better? 'You know that dude who made people eat animal d---s on TV? How does he feel about medicine?' If you want my advice, don't take my advice."
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