It seems like not a day goes by without another celebrity weighing in on the various controversies surrounding Joe Rogan. Today, however, that celebrity is Rogan himself. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the podcast host addressed the recent uproar over his past use of the n-word and the COVID-19 misinformation he’s been spreading during a stand-up set on Tuesday night.
Rogan reportedly performed for an intimate crowd in Austin, Texas at the Vulcan Gas Company, where he reiterated that he would only use the racial slur “in context” but admitted that doing so was still “racist as fuck.”
“I used to say it if [I was talking about] a Richard Pryor bit or something, I would say it in context,” he said. “Somebody made a compilation of every time I said that word over 14 years and they put it on YouTube, and it turned out that was racist as fuck. Even to me! I’m me and I’m watching it saying, ‘Stop saying it!’ I put my cursor over the video and I’m like, ‘Four more minutes?!’”
“I haven’t used that word in years,” he added. “But it’s kind of weird people will get really mad if you use that word and tweet about it on a phone that’s made by slaves.”
Perhaps the most frustrating part of Rogan’s set, however, came when he weighed in on the controversy surrounding his COVID-19 conspiracy theories.
“I talk shit for a living — that’s why this is so baffling to me,” he said. “If you’re taking vaccine advice from me, is that really my fault? What dumb shit were you about to do when my stupid idea sounded better? ‘You know that dude who made people eat animal dicks on TV? How does he feel about medicine?’ If you want my advice, don’t take my advice.”
Rogan can’t have it both ways. He can’t position himself as some sort of thought leader who brings on serious guests to debate serious issues and then walk it back by claiming he’s just a comedian. “It’s not my fault you were dumb enough to listen to me” is an infuriating attempt to deflect blame, but it’s also an admission by Rogan that he’s full of shit. He doesn’t even believe all the crackpot theories he’s been peddling, but he continues to do so because it brings him more money and attention. Meanwhile, people are dead because they took medical advice from “that dude who made people eat animal dicks on TV.”
So please, just this one time, we implore you to heed Joe Rogan’s advice and stop listening to Joe Rogan’s dangerous takes on COVID-19.
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