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UFC color commentator and podcasting extraordinaire Joe Rogan made the move to Spotify earlier this week, part of a blockbuster $100 million deal that locks up the part-time comedian for the next couple of years.
That said, Rogan and Co. are not off to the best start.
Longtime fans, some of whom already branded Rogan a “sell out” for ditching the YouTube “Experience,” are now crying “censorship” after Spotify failed to catalog some of the podcast’s more controversial episodes.
That includes (but is not limited to) interviews with conspiracy theorists Alex Jones and David Seaman, far-right figures such as Owen Benjamin, Stefan Molyneux, Milo Yiannopoulos, Gavin McInnes, Charles C. Johnson, and Sargon of Akkad, as well as embattled comedian Chris D’Elia, according to Entertainment Weekly.
“Very disappointed, I have followed you for years but will not make the move to Spotify,” one fan commented on Twitter, while another asked, “Who the fuck let this happen?” Still another wrote, “If Spotify is going to pull this shit then I am probably going to drop my subscription and move on to someone else.”
As of this writing, no one from Team Rogan or the Spotify camp has bothered to respond to any of the online reports or address the fan complaints on social media. Rogan did, however, tweet that his next guest would be pop star Miley Cyrus following his five-hour debut marathon with Duncan Trussell.
As one fan put it, “0-2 so far for me bud.”