Joe Rogan apologizes for using racial slurs
Rogan used the word more than 20 times in the clips, which he said were compiled over a span of 12 years. In his apology, Rogan said it’s the “most regretful and shameful thing” he has ever had to address publicly.
“I know that to most people, there’s no context where a White person is ever allowed to say that, never mind publicly on a podcast, and I agree with that,” he said. “Now, I haven’t said it in years,” Rogan added.
Arie used the #DeleteSpotify hashtag to her almost 1 million followers on Instagram.
Rogan “shouldn’t even be uttering the word,” Arie said. “Don’t even say it, under any context. Don’t say it. That’s where I stand. I have always stood there.”
Spotify responded to criticism, saying it is adding a content advisory to any podcast episode — not just Rogan’s — that includes discussion about Covid-19, a move Rogan has said he agrees with.
Spotify has not yet responded to CNN with comment on Rogan’s past use of racial slurs. Rogan claims that he previously used the n-word as part of a context — such as when he discussed a Richard Pryor album or the repeated use of the word in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film “Pulp Fiction.”
“There’s nothing I can do to take that back,” Rogan said. “… I do hope that if anything, that this can be a teachable moment, because I never thought it would ever be taken out of context and put in a video like that.”
Rogan said in his apology he’s “not racist.”
“Whenever you’re in a situation where you have to say, I’m not racist, you f**ked up, and I clearly have f**ked up,” Rogan said.
Rogan also addressed a video of him comparing a Black neighborhood to a Planet of the Apes movie. “I certainly would never want to offend someone for entertainment with something as stupid as racism,” Rogan said.
Last week, Rogan also brought up the subject of race in an episode of his podcast with guest Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist and climate change skeptic. After a brief discussion of the “spectrum of shades of people,” Rogan said it was strange to call someone Black or White based on their skin tone.
CNN’s Scottie Andrew contributed to this report.
