Why Do People Hate Joe Rogan? All About the Controversial Podcast Host

Joe Rogan, the comedian and podcast host known for giving just about anyone a chance to speak, regardless of how accurate their views are, has made plenty of enemies. However, despite a plethora of people who condemn Joe Rogan for promoting misinformation, the larger-than-life podcast personality commands legions of loyal fans.

Rogan, whose podcast The Joe Rogan Experience is exclusively available on Spotify, has been accused by some people of selling out. His no-holds-barred approach to saying whatever he wants has garnered him die-hard fans as well as hatred. Very few people are lukewarm towards the star.

Rogan, whose podcast is massively popular, is perhaps most often criticized for encouraging discussion of what has been established as "misinformation." He frequently hosts guests who claim to be “experts” in a certain field who contradict generally accepted facts and information.

Rogan has claimed that those who are young and healthy don’t need vaccines, and that ivermectin is an effective treatment. He walked back some comments by saying that he isn't a doctor or even a “respected source of information.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought Rogan’s views and tendency to promote false narratives into sharp focus. Last month, 270 doctors, scientists, and healthcare professionals signed an open letter urging Spotify to implement clearer misinformation policies due to Rogan’s content.

For example, Katrine Wallace, an epidemiologist at the University of Chicago who signed the letter, said to NPR, “We are in a global health emergency, and streaming platforms like Spotify that provide content to the public have a responsibility not to add to the problem.”

Rogan’s interview with Dr. Robert Malone sparked controversy. The former mRNA vaccine virologist criticized the vaccines, and both of the men promoted various COVID-related conspiracy theories.

Another of Rogan’s controversial stances involves transgender people. He frequently mocked Fallon Fox, the first openly transgender mixed martial arts athlete. As The New York Times reported, Fox said, “With every insult he made toward me, he was signaling to his followers that directing transphobic insults and slurs toward me was acceptable.”

Rogan had a library of content available on YouTube dating back 11 years when he signed an exclusive deal with Spotify in May 2020. The Wall Street Journal reported that the massive licensing agreement was worth approximately $100 million.

Even some of Rogan’s fans disliked his choice to go exclusive with Spotify, and called it “selling out” in particular when some controversial episodes like the interview with Alex Jones temporarily weren't available.

Musician Neil Young has threatened to pull all of his music from Spotify because the streaming platform hosts Rogan and his podcast. In a since-deleted letter, Young insisted that Rogan is “spreading fake information about vaccines—potentially causing death to those who believe” what he claims.

Despite Young’s having a much smaller reach on Spotify than Rogan, the artist hopes that Spotify will take responsibility for the content offered on its platform.

Axios reported in July that Spotify CEO Daniel Ek doesn’t think that the company has responsibility to editorialize the content of podcasts including Rogan’s. Ek has also defended the company’s decision to keep transphobic content available on The Joe Rogan Experience.