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Joe Rogan’s first stand-up special in six years streamed live on Netflix overnight (4 August), and the comedian and podcaster took aim at Covid vaccines, trans people and gay men.
The special, titled Burn the Boats, saw the 56-year-old joke about his reputation for misinformation. “That might be misinformation,” he said after one gag. “Don’t say you heard it from me, because I am known for that s***.”
Speaking about the pandemic early on in the special, he said: “Before Covid, I would have told you that vaccines are the most important invention in human history.
“After Covid, I’m like, ‘I don’t think we went to the moon. I think Michelle Obama’s got a d***. I think Pizzagate is real. I think there’s direct energy weapons in Antarctica.’
“I’m just kidding – I don’t think Michelle Obama’s got a d***, but I believe all of that other s***.”
Turning his jokes to the trans community, he made numerous gags about “pregnant men” and then argued that the US has been too accepting of trans people.
“I’m open-minded,” he said. “I just want to know what happened. It’s almost like a pervert wizard waved a magic spell on the whole world.
“‘With a wave of this wand, you can walk into the women’s locker room with a hard c***, and anybody who complains is a Nazi. Abracadabra!’
“And it just works! And everyone just accepts this new reality, and it’s f***ing weird. I just think we need standards. You can’t just put lipstick on and now you can s*** in the women’s room!”
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Later in the show, he made derogatory jokes about gay men, saying he doesn’t “want to be surrounded by them”.
Burn the Boats was recorded live at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio.
Rogan’s last stand-up special was 2018 set Strange Times. This is his third for Netflix, also following 2016’s Triggered.
The comedian has been embroiled in numerous controversies in recent years for spreading conspiracy theories on his podcast.
Spotify came under huge pressure in 2022 to drop Rogan over his anti-coronavirus vaccine comments and use of racial slurs, with some musicians, including Neil Young, pulling their music from the platform in protest.
Rogan’s special is the just the latest to air on Netflix that has been mired in controversy. Previous shows from Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais in recent years have been heavily criticised for their jokes about trans people.
