Joe Rogan FINALLY apologizes for using N-word, removes 100+ hours of podcast from Spotify
Following the controversy around Joe Rogan's podcast and streaming giant Spotify, the commentator experienced a major drop in his popularity in the past few days. Amid the ongoing row, one of his old clips resurfaced on social media where Joe Rogan could be seen using the N-word 24 times. The host has finally issued an apology for his past behavior, calling it "the most regretful and shameful thing I've ever had to talk about publicly".
The shocking clip started doing rounds on social media when Grammy-winning R&B singer India Arie shared the video. She urged her fans to 'Delete Spotify', giving the example of how the streaming service decided to side with someone as controversial and problematic as Joe Rogan. Meanwhile, around 70 episodes of 'The Joe Rogan Experience', clocking more than 100 hours of the podcast, have reportedly disappeared from Spotify. It is believed that the decision to remove was taken by Rogan himself, in the face of the raging uproar against him. In fact, he also removed several episodes of his podcast to coincide with his apology.
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In an Instagram video on Saturday, February 5, Joe Rogan admitted his mistake for saying the N-word in the old video. "It looks f***ing horrible. Even to me," Rogan admitted, adding, "I know that to most people, there is no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word, never mind publicly on a podcast, and I agree with that now. I haven't said it in years."
"There’s been a lot of s**t from the old episodes of the podcast that I wish I hadn’t said or had said differently. This is my take on the worst of it," he further added in the caption.
Explaining the context in which he used the N-word, Joe Rogan also said, "It's a very unusual word, but it's not my word to use. I never used it to be racist, because I'm not racist, but whenever you're in a situation where you have to say 'I'm not racist,' you've f***ed up, and I clearly have f***ed up."
Another resurfaced clip of the former UFC commentator showed him referring to a Black neighborhood in Philadelphia as "Planet of The Apes". Addressing the same, Rogan said, "I was trying to make the story entertaining. I did not, nor did I ever say that black people are apes, but it sure f***ing sounded like that. It wasn't a racist story, but it sounded terrible. I've said a lot of f***ing stupid s**t, which is okay, but not when you're talking about race."
Rogan recently apologized for spreading Covid-related misinformation as well, as he noted, "I don’t know because I’m not a doctor. I’m 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. I get things wrong, but I try to correct them whenever I get something wrong."
"I want to thank Spotify for being so supportive during this time, and I’m very sorry that this is happening to them and that they’re taking so much from it," he added.