As Joe Rogan remains embroiled in controversies, he can take comfort in knowing he has the support of Donald Trump.
Trump issued a statement dated Feb. 7 and posted to Twitter on Tuesday by spokeswoman Liz Harrington in which the former U.S. president urges Rogan to not make himself “look weak and frightened” with apologies.
“Joe Rogan is an interesting and popular guy, but he’s got to stop apologizing to the Fake News and Radical Left maniacs and lunatics,” Trump said.
Rogan, the longtime UFC commentator and wildly popular podcaster, came under fire this past weekend after Grammy Award-winning singer India Arie shared a video compilation containing 24 instances in which Rogan used the N-word on “The Joe Rogan Experience.” In response, Rogan called his past use of the racial slur “the most regretful and shameful thing that I’ve ever had to talk about publicly.” Although he attempted to explain the context in which he used the N-word, Rogan didn’t make any excuses and apologized.
Rogan owning up to his actions was a sign of weakness to Trump.
“How many ways can you say you’re sorry?” Trump said. “Joe, just go about what you do so well and don’t let them make you look weak and frightened. That’s not you and it never will be!”
The viral video shared by Arie prompted her to ask Spotify, which exclusively streams Rogan’s podcast, to remove her music from its platform. Her request came on the heels of a string of high-profile musical artists boycotting Spotify because of Rogan.
Late last month, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and others asked for their music to be pulled, claiming that Rogan’s podcast spreads dangerous misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine.
In response to that controversy, Rogan took a more defiant tone but vowed to “try to balance out these more controversial viewpoints with other people perspectives so we can maybe find a better point of view.”
Earlier this week, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek sent a memo to employees condemning Rogan’s use of the N-word but added, “I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer.”
Spotify in 2020 paid a reported $100 million for “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
