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Jemele Hill, the former ESPN host whom critics have long called a “race hustler,” is now being accused of trying to use bogus charges of “racism” to shake down Spotify.
The accusation stems from remarks she made to The New York Times this week for a piece about Spotify, the streaming network that’s come under assault from the establishment press for its decision to host popular podcaster Joe Rogan.
Rogan has been under constant assault because of his willingness to challenge the establishment’s coronavirus rhetoric. The assault has come in the form of left-wing agitprop groups using clips of him speaking out of context to paint him as a racist.
And indeed, it appears Hill has bought into this narrative hook, line and sinker.
“What I would like to see, is for them to hand $100 million to somebody who is black,” she said to the Times this week for a piece published Thursday.
Critics interpreted the remark as her saying that Spotify must pay a black podcaster as much as it’s paid Rogan to prove that it’s not racist.
And given that Hill is herself a Spotify podcaster, it seemed to some that she was trying to shake down her own “employer”:
I’m glad we’ve finally advanced to the part of the story when the left just has an overt absolution price sheet. It makes the shakedown much more efficient. https://t.co/N9gF8swK8J
— Stu Burguiere (@StuDoesAmerica) February 18, 2022
Wouldn’t you know it? Jemele Hill is a black podcaster! Spotify could just pay her Joe Rogan money and achieve justice while simultaneously stopping her crusade against Spotify! https://t.co/RYAqF35Ydn
— Dan O’Donnell (@DanODonnellShow) February 18, 2022
Well I nominate Dave Chappelle then, @jemelehill. Or, if he’s unavailable, then myself. True, I’m not a “black person” but unless @Spotify wants to be seen as anti-gay, they need to deposit $100 million in my bank account. Isn’t that how this shakedown works?😏 https://t.co/QVdoHQw46r
— Irishvaron 🇺🇸 (@Irishvaron) February 19, 2022
Both the establishment press and left-wing activists have in recent weeks been pummeling Rogan, with the original accusation being that his podcast is a hotbed of COVID “misinformation.”
Critics say these attacks are rooted in frustration over Rogan’s unwillingness to bend the knee and parrot the establishment’s talking points.
Instead the popular podcaster allows guests of all stripes — including conservatives and other dissenters — to speak freely on his show, even if what they have to say belies the orthodoxy of the predominantly left establishment.
And since calling Rogan out for his alleged “misinformation” wasn’t enough to get him ousted, the establishment eventually resorted to accusing him of racism as well:
Perfect. Democracy Now completes its transformation into MSNBC by hosting the David-Brock-created Media Matters to agitate for Joe Rogan’s silencing.
Last year, Amy Goodman nodded as life-long GOP operative Stuart Stevens said Bush, unlike Trump, was a noble and decent patriot. https://t.co/ExJ5lZTri0
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) February 11, 2022
Spotify has mostly refused to take the bait, with CEO Daniel Elk making it clear in a statement earlier this month that he does “not believe that silencing Joe is the answer.”
In the same statement, he did however vow to spent $100 million to license, develop and market music and audio content from so-called “historically marginalized groups.” This was seen as him bending the knee, albeit slightly.
Returning to the present, critics believe Hill’s now attempting to both make Spotify bend the knee all the way and also earn herself a nice payday in the process.
The problem, they say, is that she isn’t worth as much as Rogan because her podcast, which critics say is obsessively focused on race, isn’t nearly as popular:
If someone can command an audience that will give Spotify a return on its investment to the degree of Rogan, I’m sure they’re all for spending more money to make it back and then some. They didn’t just give Rogan $100M for the hell of it.
— Doug Ripley (@DougRipleyPxP) February 18, 2022
If there is someone who has the numbers Rogan does I’m sure we would know who they are and maybe they would get $100M. Joe is compared to network news channels because no one else is close to him in the podcast space. He gets paid for his numbers, not because he’s white.
— Chad D (@CDintheEU) February 19, 2022
sure as soon as there is a black person who has a big a platform as rogan had when he got that deal then yes im sure spotify would throw the bag at them too? people only think in color kinda crazy, kinda sad.
— Jacob from Earth (@webstermakes) February 18, 2022
But just like infamous racial essentialist Ibram X. Kendi, who’s become extremely popular among members of the establishment press, Hill appears to see everything in terms of black and white, not numbers (i.e., ratings).
Because if she did also care about numbers, she’d know that Spotify is teeming with black voices, some of whom have also received high-value deals like Rogan, including former first lady Michelle Obama:
Spotify paid exclusive right for Michelle Obama’s podcast. https://t.co/BG4kCWCnW4
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) February 18, 2022
While it was never publicly announced how much she’d earned from the deal, it’s presumed it was a lot — certainly a lot more than Hill.
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