Radar Online
Joe Rogan has claimed that he is a “victim” of a “political hit job” in the newest episode of his podcast after a compilation video of him regularly using the N-word on his show was recently released.
According to Daily Mail, the 54-year-old The Joe Rogan Experience host not only claimed he was a victim during his podcast on Tuesday, but he also claimed the release of the video is a “relief” because it allowed him to address something that has “always been out there.”
“It’s like this is a political hit job,” Rogan said. “And so, they’re taking all this stuff that I ever said, and it’s wrong, and smush it all together. But it’s good because it lets me address some s–t that I really wish wasn’t out there.”
His guest went on to praise him for having the strength to apologize for saying “some wild s–t.”
“You know why I’m proud of you?” comedian Akaash Singh asked. “Because I think comedians have for years done this immature thing where it’s like we don’t apologize. We say whatever we want.”
“You can apologize if you say some wild s–t and we’ve all said some wild s–t and you apologized and you owned that it was wrong. Good for you,” Singh added.
Rogan then admitted that he believes it is important for celebrities to apologize for comments they regret saying, while also claiming it is just as important not to apologize for “nonsense.”
“But I do think you have to be very careful not to apologize for nonsense,” he claimed before using comedian and actress Awkwafina’s recent controversy over her use of a “blaccent” as an example.
“I think you just have to be yourself. I really do,” the embattled Spotify podcaster continued. “And all this nonsense of worrying what your base is is crazy.”
As Radar previously reported, Rogan felt compelled to release an apology video after black singer India Arie released a compilation video shining a light on the many times the comedian used the N-word during episodes of his podcast.
“I never used it to be racist, because I’m not racist,” he said after claiming his regular use of the slur was “out of context” and that the video looked “horrible, even to me.”
“There’s nothing I can do to take that back. I wish I could. Obviously, that’s not possible,” he continued. “I certainly wasn’t trying to be racist, and I certainly would never want to offend someone for entertainment with something as stupid as racism.”
On Sunday, Spotify CEO Daniel Elk confirmed that although Rogan’s racist language was “incredibly hurtful,” the streaming service giant would not be ending their $100 million contract with The Joe Rogan Experience, despite public outcry.
“While I strongly condemn what Joe has said and I agree with his decision to remove past episodes from our platform, I realize some will want more,” Elk said in a statement.
“And I want to make one point very clear – I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer,” he added, without offering any indication of what he believes “the answer” to Rogan’s racist and insensitive behavior is going to be.
