He's a multi-championship winning taekwondo fighter. He's a critically acclaimed stand-up comedian who's taken stands against serial joke swipers such as Carlos Mencia. He starred in two hit television series for NBC: as an actor in the Dave Foley sitcom Newsradio and as host of the reality game show Fear Factor. He became an integral part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship league as a recognized color commentator. His Spotify show The Joe Rogan Experience is the most famous podcast on the planet.
None of that, of course, is an excuse for peddling false and some might say dangerous information about vaccines, the COVID-19 pandemic, race (i.e. his recent interview with the right-leaning and not at all tan philosopher Jordan Peterson), transgender people, obesity, and giving credence to flamethrowing conspiracists like Alex Jones and so on and so on.
There comes a breaking point in every public figure's life when their controversies and contretemps outweigh their contributions to culture, and Rogan's scale has already hit the ground with the first part. We've written enough about those controversies and combed through plenty of angry Facebook comments from his fans to come to that conclusion.
The pushback against the million-dollar podcast empire Rogan created through streaming service Spotify has gotten so serious that other celebrities are getting involved.
It all started last month when a team of 260 scientists sent an open letter to Spotify laying out Rogan's controversial statements about coronavirus and the vaccines that fight it following an episode with noted anti-vaxxer Dr. Robert Morse. Unfortunately, none of the doctors who signed the letter have ever been on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, starred in a movie with talking animals or made a sex tape that went viral.
That's when musician Neil Young called for Spotify to remove his entire catalog of music from its streaming service as long as Rogan was still on the platform. Spotify complied by sticking with Rogan and dumping Young. Other famous musical faces followed Young as well as some well-known names in other entertainment realms.
The audience Rogan has amassed on Spotify gives him unparalleled leverage even when it's under a tidal wave of star-studded boycotts, but the backlash was enough to move Rogan to issue a sort-of apology on Instagram and prompted Spotify's top brass to try and do better to regulate COVID misinformation.
This all happened as Spotify's market value suffered a $4 billion loss and many other famous faces who joined Young calling for everything from Rogan's total removal to a simple tongue lashing over Rogan and his crackpot guests' comments. Young's boycott was followed by a similar one from singer Joni Mitchell, who just decided to remove all of her music from Spotify over those she called "irresponsible people" who are "spreading lies that are costing people their lives," according to NPR.
Prince Harry came out against Rogan on an episode of another podcast, Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard and Monica Padman. He said Rogan should've just stayed out of the discussion and reminded Rogan that "with a platform comes responsibility." Shepard also called Rogan's claims that young, healthy people should not get vaccinated against COVID "ridiculous" and "stupid," according to Deadline Hollywood.
Rumors started on Twitter that Barry Manilow had joined the Young protest with his music but the singer denied this in a public statement, saying, "I don't know where it started, but it didn't start with me or anyone who represents me."
Actress Rosanna Arquette brought the protest to the Spotify podcast platform when she removed her Radical Musings podcast off the streaming platform. She later remarked on Twitter about Spotify's financial loss by asking the platform if keeping Rogan "was worth that?"
Actress Sharon Stone probably had the most blunt response to Rogan so far, calling him "an asshole" to the gossip site TMZ. She characterized Spotify's promise to put a disclaimer on Rogan's podcast as a flimsy move after taking Young's side on Twitter. Rogan's nonsense hit the trifecta when all three thirds of Crosby, Stills and Nash released a rare joint statement joining their former musical partner Young's protest by removing their catalog from Spotify. The trio called Rogan's comments about vaccines "dangerous disinformation," according to Rolling Stone.
Guitar legend Peter Frampton offered words of praise for Young and gave Apple+ some free advertising by tweeting: "Good for you Neil. I’ve always been an Apple guy for streaming. No Joe Rogan for me thank you!"
Good for you Neil.
— Peter Frampton (@peterframpton) January 28, 2022
I’ve always been an Apple guy for streaming. No Joe Rogan for me thank you! @neilyoung @SpotifyUSA
The Daily Show's Trevor Noah gave one of the most stinging takes on Rogan's recent comments about race in regards to Rogan's interview with Peterson. Rogan questioned the label "Black" for people who aren't "100 percent African" basing the term on skin complexion, which clearly bothered Noah, a South African native. Singer India.Arie also pulled her music from Spotify over Rogan's opinions on race.
As for Rogan's views on vaccines and other proven COVID precautions, Noah was complimentary about Rogan's statement in an off-the-cuff editorial but took issue with the ideas he and his listeners pushed about the ineffectiveness of cloth masks.
E Street Band guitarist Nils Lofgren pulled his music collection from Spotify. The move prompted praise from Mary L. Trump when she pulled her political podcast The Mary Trump Show from Spotify as well.
Sebastian Bach's involvement in the Spotify protest came about in a unique way. He called out artists like Disturbed singer and anti-texting schoolmarm David Draiman for taking Rogan's side. The former Skid Row frontman posted on Twitter, "Imagine calling yourself a rocker yet siding with some dude who has a podcast over [Neil Young.]"I'm removing my podcast from @Spotify. I know it's not a big deal but hope it will be part of a growing avalanche. Thank you to #NeilYoung, @jonimitchell, and @nilslofgren for your courage in leading the way.
— Mary L Trump (@MaryLTrump) February 2, 2022
Now the protest has reached peak celebrity thanks to the Mistress of the Dark herself, Elvira. The horror hostess played by actress Casandra Peterson posted on her character's official Twitter a link to a MoveOn.org petition to get Spotify to remove Rogan's show from the platform. That means if you're on Rogan's side, you're not on Elvira's side and these days, and that's like being on the opposite of Santa Claus' side.
I stand with musicians and artists, not with quacks and hacks. This cause is close to my heart - please sign: https://t.co/PULIqYaUhR
— Elvira (@TheRealElvira) January 31, 2022
