Joe Rogan Returns, Talks Spotify Critics and CNN

Joe Rogan returned to Spotify and further addressed the calls to boycott his podcast.

Strangely, Rogan had not uploaded a podcast this week until Friday. Rogan's week-long absence followed a parade of musicians who boycotted Spotify because the service does not censor Rogan's commentary on COVID-19. It's unclear if Rogan's short week had anything to do with the boycotts or if he had a scheduling conflict with his comedy tour.

When guest Andy Stumpf, a retired Navy SEAL, asked Rogan about the chatter, Rogan said there's nothing more he can do.

“I put out a video a couple days ago. Other than that, not much I can do," Rogan said. "Stay offline."

“When you’re hearing it from people who are losing the information attention game — people like CNN — when they’re calling for other networks or shows to be censored or limited, it’s like, ‘Just do better.’”












In the video Rogan posted earlier this week, he promised to bring on pundits who will offset his more "controversial" guests.

“I pledge to balance out the more controversial viewpoints with other people’s perspective so many we can find a better point of view, I don’t want to just show the contrary opinion to what the narrative is. I want to show all kinds of opinions,” Rogan said.

As OutKick argued, it had seemed Rogan vowed to compromise. Here's a snippet of the column:

It seems Rogan wants to have a rational conversation with people who have been wrong from the start, the very people who want to prevent Rogan from proving them wrong again. (And spoiler, he soon will. Maybe on the topic of ivermectin.)

Rogan thinks the media will forgive him if he brings on “approved” pundits after each “controversial” guest. They won’t. Rogan is stunningly naïve if he thinks a compromise will appease progressives. They don’t compromise. 

Perhaps Rogan has been sitting for too long in a small Texas studio with exiled voices, doped-up fighters and shamed comedians. He obviously doesn’t know the people to whom he’s apologizing. These people are not looking to have a conversation but to conquer him, break him. They want to destroy everything that they don’t currently control. They want to mask children and keep them home away from school to protect teachers unions and the politicians in their pockets. Rogan is looking to reason with the unreasonable.

Rogan's episode with Stumpf didn't provide much of a preview of how Rogan will cover COVID moving forward. The two mostly discussed jiujitsu, sports injuries and military culture. Though they did touch on lockdowns.













Written by
Bobby Burack is a writer for OutKick where he reports and analyzes the latest topics in media, culture, sports, and politics.. Burack has become a prominent voice in media and has been featured on several shows across OutKick and industry related podcasts and radio stations.