Fox News host Tucker Carlson called Joe Rogan “a source for safety in this world” after the podcaster faced criticism for his inaccurate claims about Covid-19 and vaccines.
On Wednesday, Mr Carlson on his prime time show hit out on those raising concerns over Mr Rogan’s podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience”, adding that the podcaster has been warning people about various risks, such as the “dangers of approaching a gorrilla in the wild”.
“It turns out, sneaking up on a gorilla, as Joe Rogan pointed out, could lead to actual serious harm,” said Mr Carlson as he played Mr Rogan’s clip.
He said Mr Rogan may be “the most popular broadcaster in the English-speaking world right now”.
For comparison, he said Mr Rogan’s show “reaches about 11 million people, and some of the episodes get an audience many times that.”
“How many people is that? It’s a lot.”
“For perspective, last night, CNN’s highest-rated show had a little over 700,000 viewers total,” Mr Carlson said, adding that Mr Rogan is “not especially political” or reactionary either.
“He’s not an expert on politics. He’s not pretending to be one. Mr Rogan just asks questions, and he notes the obvious,” Mr Carlson further said. “It’s this last quality that makes the people in charge hate and fear Joe Rogan.”
The prime time show by Mr Carlson in support of the podcaster came amid a firestorm surrounding Mr Rogan and Spotify, the platform that hosts his podcast over his frequent false and inaccurate claims about Covid-19 and vaccines.
Artists such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell asked the streaming music company to pull their music from the platform last week over the controversy.
Following the backlash, Mr Rogan issued an apology in an instagram video where he said he is not an expert but “just a person who sits down and has conversations”.
Spotify said it is adding a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes discussion about Covid-19. The advisory will direct listeners to a Covid-19 hub that will include links to trusted sources, the company said. Neverthless, criticism of the streaming platform has persisted.
