The podfather has spoken. Joe Rogan, the comedian turned massively influential podcaster who endorsed Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump in the last two elections, offered some thoughts on the Jimmy Kimmel controversy on Tuesday. He turned on conservatives, with whom he has a large following, calling them “crazy” to celebrate Kimmel’s suspension over comments related to Charlie Kirk. But he also called for the country to come together in a “community” and advocated for some traditionally left-wing solutions, namely, a “strong social safety net.” While going back and forth over whether the U.S. is actually in the midst of a “culture war,” Rogan nevertheless advocated for policies to counter what he sees as unprecedented societal disruption.
On a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan came to the defense of ABC late-night host Kimmel, who was suspended by parent company Disney following on-air comments about Charlie Kirk’s shooter. In his Sept. 15 monologue, Kimmel criticized Trump supporters’ response to Kirk’s death, saying “The MAGA gang is desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and they are doing everything they can to score political points from it.” Kimmel returned to the airwaves on Tuesday night on roughly 75% of ABC stations, with major affiliates Nexstar and Sinclair refusing to broadcast the program.
