Why Fans Think Joe Rogan Is Lying About Not Being Vaccinated
Joe Rogan is facing significant backlash from the scientific community and regular consumers alike following accusations he's been openly sharing misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, and the pandemic in general, on his podcast. Per People, Rogan has frequently interviewed guests on the wildly popular "Joe Rogan Experience," with controversial opinions on how the U.S. response to the global health crisis has failed.
Musicians including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulled their music from Spotify in response to the ongoing debacle, while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle called on the streaming giant to do something to address the "serious harms" caused by COVID-19 misinformation. The Sussexes notably signed a multimillion dollar deal with Spotify to produce podcasts for them, however it was nothing compared to the massive $100 million Rogan reportedly got paid.
Spotify announced plans to add a content advisory note to podcasts including discussions about the pandemic, while Rogan himself pledged to do better in an Instagram video. "It's a strange responsibility to have this many viewers and listeners," he argued, in defense of giving all views a platform to be heard. "It's very strange, and it's nothing that I prepared for and it's nothing that I ever anticipated."
However, online commentators are challenging whether the podcast host's controversial stance is actually real, or simply a cynical means to generate more income.
Did Joe Rogan willingly lose money to protect his vaccination status?
As The Verge notes, Joe Rogan has made his stance on vaccines clear. During an episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," he argued young people shouldn't rush to get the COVID-19 jab, even though the host acknowledged, "for the most part it's safe to get vaccinated." In fact, Rogan's parents are vaccinated. Spotify reportedly ruled the episode wasn't explicitly anti-vaccine, which is why it was left up on the platform. However, as far as certain commentators are concerned, Rogan has portrayed himself as being unvaccinated — even though actually is.
According to TikTok user Fluently Forward, recent blind items about a "former actor turned host [who] wants everyone to think he isn't vaccinated but he is" and an "A+ list host who holds down a lot of jobs [and] decided it was better career-wise to keep up the pretense of being vaccinated than make a few bucks he doesn't really need" are allegedly both about Rogan.
She points out how the former UFC commentator had a sold-out comedy show scheduled for late 2021 in Canada, but was forced to cancel at the last minute because "everybody was freaking out" Rogan wasn't vaccinated. The podcaster arguably didn't really need the money — given that massive Spotify deal — and could have reasoned that it was better to still be considered unvaccinated in fans' eyes than come clean about his alleged little secret.