“Talking shit used to be fun,” complains Joe Rogan. “It didn’t used to have so many consequences.” He sounds quite sensitive, Rogan, to the pushback against him saying the N-word on his hit podcast, or broadcasting anti-vaccine misinformation. Which is ironic, because every routine here is bookended by a peeve about how sensitive people are these days. The consequences Rogan has faced for “talking shit”, meanwhile, have not been entirely negative. Spotify bought his podcast for a reported $100m, and here he is performing his standup to 20,000-capacity crowds.
Watching the show, I can understand his resentment at being branded sexist, homophobic and the rest. Joke for joke, he’s not overtly chauvinistic – and when he risks being so (gags about his fear of predatory gay men; gags about #MeToo going too far), he takes pains to frame things in ways that short-circuit the offence. The overall persona helps: unlike his unlovely support act Tony Hinchcliffe, he doesn’t want us to admire his opinions, repeatedly (and endearingly) sending up his own stupidity and lack of authority.
