The podcaster Joe Rogan is “repeating Russian propaganda” about the war in Ukraine, the former world heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko charged in remarks on social media, adding that Rogan should invite him on his podcast to discuss the issue “like free men”.
“I listen to your latest podcast,” said Klitschko, whose brother Vitali Klitschko was also a world champion boxer and is now mayor of Kyiv.
“I’m sending you this video to let you know that I disagree. You talk about these American weapons being sent to Ukraine, which you believe will lead to the third world war. So let me tell you that you’re repeating Russian propaganda.”
In Rogan’s three-hour interview with Donald Trump – widely held to have been influential in the recent US election, as was Kamala Harris’s decision not to follow suit – the then Republican candidate claimed he would end the war in Ukraine swiftly. Rogan gave Trump his endorsement. Trump has long been accused of cozying up to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
On Friday, Rogan – whose podcast is among the most popular in the world, currently ranking third on the latest Apple Podcasts chart – criticised Joe Biden’s recent decision to allow Ukraine to strike Russian soil with US-supplied missiles, widely seen as an attempt to help Kyiv boost its negotiating position before Trump-imposed peace talks.
“How are you allowed to do that when you are on your way out,” Rogan asked of Biden, who will leave office on 20 January. “Like, people don’t want you to be there anymore, maybe that would be a good thing we would like to avoid from a dying former president. The whole thing is nuts.”
Rogan said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “100% wrong” but remarked of the Ukrainian president: “[Volodymyr] Zelenskyy says Putin is terrified. Fuck you, man. You fucking people are about to start world war three.”
He added: “The whole thing is a proxy war … it is fucking insane.”
Putin has long claimed US assistance for Ukraine is part of a proxy war aimed at weakening Russia.
“Putin’s Russia is in trouble, so they want to scare you and people like you,” Klitschko said in his message to Rogan. “His war was supposed to last three days. It has lasted three years thanks to the heroism and sacrifice of us Ukrainians. So you’re using the only weapon that Putin really intends to use, propaganda, and this weapon really weakens our democracies.
“Putin’s Russia wants to destroy Ukraine quietly. They want America to stay quiet. Not great, but quiet. A great America is not an America that abandons countries that defend freedom with their lives.
“In short, you see, I have quite a few points of difference. If you invite me on your podcast, we could discuss them like free men.”
Klitschko, 48, won Olympic gold in 1996 before holding multiple world boxing titles between 2000 and 2015. Rogan is a former mixed martial arts commentator and frequently discusses professional fighting with his guests.
