Joe Rogan has responded after the chair of the ABC, Kim Williams, said podcasters like him are “deeply repulsive”, during an appearance at the National Press Club on Wednesday
Williams — who succeeded Ita Butrose as the chair of broadcaster in March — criticised the content of Rogan and his ilk when asked his thoughts about what a reporter called the “Joe Rogan effect.”
“People like Mr. Rogan prey on people’s vulnerabilities,” Williams replied. “They prey on fear, they prey on anxiety, they prey on all of the elements that contribute to uncertainty in society.”
Williams took particular aim at Rogan — who, on his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, has floated conspiracies about COVID-19 — for promoting “conspiracy outcomes”.
“They entrepreneur fantasy outcomes and conspiracy outcomes as being a normal part of social narrative,” Williams said.
“I personally find it deeply repulsive.”
While calling someone “repulsive” is a read far more cutting than anything on Drag Race, Williams continued the evisceration by noting the dangerous popularity of content like The Joe Rogan Experience.
“To think that someone has such remarkable power in the United States is something that I look at in disbelief,” Williams said.
“I’m also absolutely in dismay that this can be a source of public entertainment, when it’s really treating the public as plunder for purposes that are really quite malevolent.”
Between “repulsive” and “malevolent,” Williams has become the unofficial winner of eloquent insults that double as a showcase of your vocabulary.
In case you couldn’t tell, Williams clarified that he is “not a consumer or enthusiast about Mr. Rogan”, but I’m not exactly sure what gave that away?
Rogan has since responded to Williams on social media, resharing the clip of his comments with the caption: “LOL WUT”. Is that all you got, Joey?
Rogan was backed in that schoolyard retort by Elon Musk, who once made an infamous appearance on Rogan’s podcast. The billionaire took to the platform he criminally rebranded to X to write: “From the head of Australian government-funded media, their Pravda”.
For those unaware, Pravda was the name of the official newspaper of the Soviet Union’s Communist Party.
Williams’ comments come just weeks after Donald Trump’s stunning presidential election victory, with his appearance on podcasts like Rogan’s thought to have won over key voters.
Rogan forms part of a growing Australian pushback against controversial American commentators in recent months.
Last month, the visa of far-right commentator Candance Owens was denied ahead of her planned speaking tour, while podcaster Andrew Tate was name-checked in the Victorian government’s push to address gender-based violence in schools.
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