Popular podcaster Joe Rogan and his relationship with the streaming platform Spotify have made headlines in recent weeks, and he addressed some of the controversies during his recent podcast with comedian Tim Dillon. Rogan and Dillon spoke during episode No. 1544 of the Joe Rogan Experience about Spotify employees potentially wanting to censor and edit his podcast.
Spotify has the exclusive licensing rights to the Joe Rogan Experience, and according to reports from media outlets, some employees have threatened to strike if they do not receive editorial control over Rogan’s podcast, taking issue with some of the subjects Rogan speaks about as well as what he says.
However, according to the podcaster and UFC commentator, Spotify has not spoken to him about censoring his show or about any internal company dialogue about the situation.
“Listen, me on the outside reading these f****** articles, like ‘Oh my God, Spotify is censoring Rogan,” Rogan said. “Spotify has said nothing. Listen to me, nothing. They haven’t said anything to my manager, they haven’t said anything to me. They’ve said nothing. They’ve apparently had meetings. But they have a lot of meetings. They have meetings about all sorts of shows. They have meetings about the music they have.”
“It’s an open-minded company,” Rogan continued. “They treat their employees very well. They let them have discussions about things. And I don’t know what these discussions are like. I don’t know what happens, I really don’t. But, in terms of them silencing me, zero. There’s been nothing.”
Rogan’s conversation with Dillon about Spotify can be viewed below:
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Rogan Says That There Is Likely a Spotify Employee Upset With the Podcast He Did With Abigail Shrier
In July, Rogan recorded a podcast with Abigail Shrier, a journalist, writer and author of the book Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. During the episode, Rogan and Shrier spoke about transgender people and transitioning. Some criticized the podcast, calling Rogan and Shrier transphobic.
Rogan said to Dillon, “Is there somebody at Spotify complaining about the Abigail Shrier episode? I’m sure. I’m sure there’s someone complaining about it. Is it a transphobic episode? It’s not. They’re wrong.”
The podcaster defended his stance and the conversation he had with Shrier, saying that people should be able to have an open dialogue about transitioning, especially when it comes to children.
“I don’t know what the actual conversation has been from Spotify talking to these employees, but if these employees are listening, I would tell you emphatically I am not in any way anti-trans,” Rogan said. “Not in any way. I am 100 percent for people to be able to do whatever they want as long as it doesn’t harm other people. If you choose to do anything, whatever you want, whatever your personal choice is, I am happy if you’re happy.”
Rogan said that he is “100 percent open-minded” and he believes that he should be able to have conversations about controversial subjects like children transitioning. His rebuttal can be viewed here.
Rogan Says That If Spotify Employees Are Concerned With His Podcast, They Should Be Much More Concerned About Lyrics in Some Music on the Platform
During his discussion with Dillon, Rogan said that sometimes when he’s talking on the podcast, he says things he “doesn’t even mean” as he is talking “off the top of (his) head.” He also said that if some Spotify employees have an issue with the conversations he has on the podcast, they should be even more concerned with the lyrics of some music on the platform.
Rogan told Hot New Hip Hop:
I’m sure they’ve had issues with other episodes as well, but like I’ve said before: I’m talking off the top of my head, and a lot of times, I’m saying s*** I don’t even mean, because I’m saying it because this is a f****** podcast. And if you have a problem with people saying terrible s*** and you work for Spotify, maybe you should listen to some of the lyrics. Ok? Because some of the lyrics in some of the f****** music you guys play over and over and over again makes my s*** pale in comparison. Pale. If you’re listening to some rap music right now— I’m not anti-rap, I love rap music. I’m– I’m f****** saying, go back and listen to NWA. Go back and listen to some of the early s***. Like go back and listen to Ice-T, “Cop Killer” From the Body Count days. Whew.
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Joe Rogan Responds to Talk of Spotify Censoring His Podcast