Podcaster Jor Rogan pulled the curtain back on efforts to deplatform his show during the COVID-19 pandemic, including former presidents working to take him off the air.
The host of The Joe Rogan Experience recounted the COVID era as he spoke with his guest, author Chase Hughes, during Wednesday’s episode, noting that his podcast on Spotify lost sponsors and that multiple former U.S. presidents sought to shut him down over “vaccine misinformation.”
**WARNING: Language**
(Video Credit: Joe Rogan Experience)
“Well, the position that I was in during the COVID thing was very unique,” Rogan said as the two discussed the power of social media in exposing information.
“It was almost easy for me because I’d gotten such a headstart,” he added.
“I was so far ahead of them, and they didn’t realize that my ability to say, ‘Wait, this doesn’t make any sense. Like, none of this makes any sense. ‘ And also, why am I green? And why are you guys lying? Why are you lying about all sorts of different things?” he went on, referring to a controversial CNN video in which the podcaster appeared “green” to make him seem more sick.
Rogan had gotten sick with COVID at the time and was being treated with a cocktail of medication, including Ivermectin, that his doctor had prescribed.
“How come you guys aren’t looking at vaccine injuries? It seems like a significant thing that people are talking about. You got soccer players dropping dead in the middle of the field, and no one’s bringing that up. You’re trying to gaslight us into thinking that that doesn’t make any sense,” Rogan continued.
” I was in a unique position to be able to do that because I had like almost like quietly snuck up to this and had this large audience that they weren’t aware of. So when it happened, it was just like I couldn’t do anything other than what I did. I had to just keep doing it the way I did it. And it was… the blowback was crazy. They tried to crush my sponsors. They organized campaigns. There was PACs involved,” he recalled.
“Thank God I was on Spotify, and thank God Spotify is not an American company. And also it helped that I was number one in, like, 90 countries and not number 90 in one country, you know? That helped. That helped a lot,” he said.
“I can’t even talk about it, but there was presidents involved and former presidents involved that were contacting Spotify. Oh yeah. Trying to get me removed for vaccine misinformation. Yeah. And it turned out to be right. All of it. Not a single [person] apologized,” he said, adding that the topic goes “deep” for him.
“It was nuts, but it didn’t work. But they tried. They spent a lot of money, a loooot of money,” he said.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.