Podcaster Joe Rogan revealed on Tuesday that two former presidents called Spotify in 2022 regarding his discussions on COVID-19, which led to major backlash against the popular podcaster during the pandemic.
During a Tuesday podcast episode with Dr. Mary Talley Bowden, Rogan recalled how critics of his viewpoints on COVID-19 engaged in a protest against Spotify by removing their content from Spotify in an attempt to pressure the streaming platform to censor or remove Rogan’s podcast in 2022. According to Fox News, one of the individuals who removed content from Spotify as part of the protest against Rogan was musician Neil Young.
“And then all of a sudden, I hear that Neil Young wants me removed from Spotify,” Rogan said. “I was like, ‘What the f-ck is going on? This is crazy,'” Rogan said Tuesday.
Rogan added, “Spotify got calls from two former presidents.”
Asked to confirm his statement regarding the two unnamed former presidents calling Spotify, Rogan repeatedly told Bowden, “Oh yeah.”
According to Fox Business, after Spotify announced in 2022 that it would include advisories on content the company considered to be misinformation, former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, “So this disclaimer, it’s a positive step, but we want every platform to continue doing more to call out misinformation while also uplifting accurate information.”
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“Our hope is that all major tech platforms — and all major news sources for that matter — be responsible and be vigilant to ensure the American people have access to accurate information on something as significant as COVID-19,” Psaki added at the time.
Despite the backlash against his COVID-19 discussions, Rogan explained that his podcast increased by two million subscribers in a single month.
“People started listening,” Rogan said. “And they started listening, like, ‘Oh, he’s really reasonable and pretty humble about all this stuff and just asking questions.'”
During his recent podcast episode, Rogan noted that his experience during the COVID-19 pandemic was a “wake-up call” that changed his perspective on liberal media outlets.
“It’s so dirty. It’s such a dirty business,” Rogan said. The popular podcaster claimed that he used to have “massive respect for journalists.”
“If I had never done this podcast, I would be your regular schmo out there with, you know, just spitting out all the company lines and all the blast all over the news,” Rogan added. “I kind of liked it better then. I didn’t think the world is filled with demons, money-hungry demons that are willing to sacrifice human lives in the pursuit of revenue.”
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