Joe Rogan Responds To Controversy About Covid-19 Misinformation On His Spotify Podcast

Joe Rogan, a comedian who hosts the hugely popular podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, has responded to the recent news of several high-profile music artists, including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, leaving Spotify in protest of his show’s major presence on the platform in the wake of several controversial comments he and guests have made about Covid-19.

Rogan has been criticized in the past for welcoming guests that promote misinformation regarding the Covid-19 pandemic to his wide audience. Rogan himself has also made several comments questioning the need for certain people to get the Covid-19 vaccine, and promoted unapproved treatments for the virus when he tested positive for it.

In a 10-minute video posted to Instagram, Rogan began by saying that his critics have a “distorted perception” of his show, claiming it is a casual conversation show that shouldn’t be taken seriously as an interview program. He also defended the qualifications of vaccine skeptics he had on the show such as Dr. Robert Malone and Dr. Peter McCullough saying “both these people are very highly credentialed … and they have an opinion that’s different from the mainstream narrative.”

On the claims his guests have made that have been flagged as dangerous misinformation, Rogan said, “I do not know if they are right. I don’t know because I am not a doctor, I am not a scientist. I’m just a person who sits down and talks to people and has conversations with them. Do I get things wrong? Absolutely.” He also listed several pro-vaccine voices who have been on the podcast, including Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

While Rogan primarily did not admit fault with his running of the show, he did state that there are things he could “do better” with it. He said a potential solution to his show’s controversial guests would be to have “more experts with differing opinions right after I have the controversial ones.”

He also granted a bit of insight into the show’s booking process when he said “I do all the scheduling myself, and I don’t always get it right,” revealing that Rogan himself is the sole filter for who is seen in front of his massive audience.

Rogan struck a multi-year deal with Spotify back in 2020, with a reported payout of over $100 million for rights to future episodes of his show and the 11-year library of Joe Rogan Experience Episodes already recorded.

In response to the controversy, Spotify has said it is “working to add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about Covid-19.” This will reportedly direct users to a hub of verified information from reputable sources about Covid-19.