Amid the mounting pressure on Spotify over allegations of Covid misinformation presented on its Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the show’s host made an apology of sorts — “if I pissed you off, I’m sorry” — and garnered support from Dwayne Johnson, Kevin James, Jewel, Jamie Kennedy, Tulsi Gabbard, Troy Aikman, Kat Von D, Domanic Monaghan, Candice Owens, Jillian Michaels, Tomi Lahren and Andrew Dice Clay.
All of those boldfaced names responded in the comments section of the Instagram video that Rogan posted Monday in which he said he just likes to have “interesting conversations with people that have differing opinions,” but admitted he doesn’t “always get it right” and promised to “do better.”
He did so in response to criticism from Neil Young and Joni Mitchell aover what they called “fake information about vaccines” presented on his show. Rogan did not go so far as to characterize views expressed on his show as “fake.” In fact, he said he tries to get to “the truth.” (Side note: Rogan says in the video he “loves” Joni Mitchell and that “‘Chuck E.’s in Love’ is a great song.” In truth, however, that song was written and performed by Rickie Lee Jones, a fact that the podcaster later caught and owned up to.)
Rogan also acknowledged the awesome power of hosting a podcast with millions of subscribers and admitted, “I’ve never tried to do anything with this podcast other than just talk to people and have interesting conversations. I didn’t plan it. I can’t believe it’s as successful as it is. It started out just f*cking around with my friends…and then, BOOM, it’s become what it is today, which is this out of control juggernaut that I barely have control of.”
He continued, “It’s a strange responsibility to have this many viewers and listeners. It’s very strange, and it’s nothing I prepared for and it’s nothing that I ever anticipated.”
In response, Dwayne Johnson wrote, “Great stuff here brother. Perfectly articulated. Look forward to coming on one day and breaking out the tequila with you.”
Rogan’s fellow comedian Kevin James said in the post’s comments, “Joe – we go way back and all these years I’ve known you to be nothing but objective and seeking truth. Thank you. Love you brother.”
Jewel wrote simply, “Your [sic.] doing a great job keep it up.”
The support comes just days after Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulled their tunes off Spotify, citing Rogan’s vaccine “misinformation,” as Young called it, and telling the streamer that if it continued with his podcast, they didn’t want any part in the service.
Today, Young’s former and longtime bandmates Graham Nash and Nils Lofgren, along with singer-songwriter India.Arie, asked that their songs also be removed from the service. Another of Spotify’s most popular podcasters, author and Ted Talks superstar Brené Brown, also said she is suspending the creation of new content for the site. She has two podcasts on the streamer.
Prince Harry and Megan Markle’s Archwell Productions released a statement Sunday morning expressing their concern over Covid-19 misinformation on Spotify without mentioning Rogan. The pair have a deal with Spotify worth a reported $25 million to make podcasts.
Mitchell, Young, et al. are far from the first to call out Rogan and Spotify. Earlier this month, a group of 270 scientists, professors, doctors and healthcare workers penned an open letter expressing concern about “mass information events” consisting of “false and societally harmful assertions” made on Rogan’s podcast. The January 12 letter asked Spotify to “establish a clear and public policy to moderate misinformation on its platform.”
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek announced a step in that direction on Sunday.
“We are working to add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes a discussion about COVID-19,” Ek said. “This advisory will direct listeners to our dedicated COVID-19 Hub, a resource that provides easy access to data-driven facts, up-to-date information as shared by scientists, physicians, academics, and public health authorities around the world, as well as links to trusted sources. This new effort to combat misinformation will roll out to countries around the world in the coming days.”