UFC commentator Joe Rogan has responded to reports some Spotify employees want to censor his podcast and are threatening to strike if the streaming giant doesn’t give them editorial control of the show.
Rogan signed what was reported to be a $100m deal with Spotify earlier this year. The Joe Rogan Experience podcast began streaming on the platform in September but has caused issues on both sides of the political spectrum.
Most recently it was reported Spotify employees were threatening to walk out unless Rogan’s podcast was censored. The long-time MMA advocate has now responded to the news for the first time.
“They have literally said nothing to me about it,” Joe Rogan said about reports some Spotify employees are planning to strike. “Zero. It’s never come up.”
Rogan admitted that someone at Spotify had been unhappy the company had aired one of his recent episodes. The popular podcaster interviewed Abigail Shrier who spoke at length about her new book which is considered by some to be transphobic
“Now, is there someone at Spotify that’s complaining about the Abigail Shrier episode? I’m sure. I’m sure there’s someone who’s complaining about it. Is it a transphobic episode? It’s not. They’re wrong. It’s nothing to do with that. It has to do with the fact that human beings are actually malleable. We all know that. That’s why cults exist.
“What Abigail is talking about in her book, Irreversible Damage, is large clusters of kids who are mostly kids that are socially awkward, many of them are autistic, many of them have never had any praise at all in their life, and they transition and they get all this praise from people. Because it is, right now it’s in vogue.”
“I don’t know what the actual conversation has been from Spotify talking to these employees. But if these employees are listening, I would tell you, emphatically, I am not in any way anti-trans. … I am 100 percent for people being able to do whatever they want, as long as it doesn’t harm other people.”
Rogan then advised the woke Spotify employees coming after him to point their anger in another direction, he said.
“I’m talking off the top of my head. And a lot of times I’m saying shit that I don’t even mean. Cus I’m saying it because this is a fucking podcast. And if you have a problem with people saying terrible shit and you work for Spotify, maybe you should listen to some of the lyrics. Okay, cus some of the lyrics and some of the fucking music that you guys play over and over and over again makes my shit pale in comparison.”
“But I get it, you’re a 23-year-old woke kid and you’re working for this company and you think you’re gonna put your foot down, I get it.” (Transcribed by Digital Music News)
Do you think Joe Rogan will remain uncensored by Spotify?