Joe Rogan has become a cultural phenomenon with his podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which has an estimated 12 million listeners. According to the New York Post, rumors are circulating about the future of Rogan with the streaming platform, as his non-exclusive agreement with Spotify, reportedly worth $200 million, will expire, having been signed in 2020.
According to The Post, some employees at Spotify were upset by Joe’s recent remarks about Jewish people. He claimed that the idea of Jews not liking money was absurd, comparing it to saying that Italians don’t like pizza.
“The Joe Rogan Experience” had 70 episodes removed by Spotify in February 2022 due to “racially insensitive language” at the host’s request.
The Anti-Defamation League’s director, Jonathan Greenblatt, expressed concern about Joe’s comments, particularly given the current climate of increasing anti-Jewish violence and the prevalence of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. He criticized Joe for using his significant influence to perpetuate harmful stereotypes about Jewish people and their relationship with money, which have been used for centuries to spread falsehoods about this community.
Rogan’s discontent with public pressure to limit his speech on his podcast reached a breaking point last year, resulting in his threat to quit the streaming giant.
Spotify has no creative control over the show’s content but the show must adhere to its guidelines. Rogan has faced backlash for his controversial comments, including COVID-19 vaccines, transgender people, and Jews. Despite some Spotify employees’ disapproval of his recent comments about Jews, the streaming giant has not acted against him, and higher-ups have “stuck by” Rogan.
During a March 2022 episode, Rogan conveyed his frustration by stating that he would resign if he reached a point where he could no longer express himself freely and had to be overly cautious with his language, saying, “I’m done with it!”
