UFC commentator Joe Rogan broke his silence on reports that Spotify employees were threatening to strike over his podcast.
It was reported last month that Spotify employees expressed their desire to censor and oversee the editorial direction of “The Joe Rogan Experience” due to controversial episodes such as the Abigail Shrier episode which allegedly had anti-transgender views.
However, as far as Rogan is concerned, Spotify have said nothing to him about the so-called issue. He also clarified why the Shrier episode wasn’t anti-transgender and that he was an open-minded person.
“They have literally said nothing to me about it,” Rogan said when asked about the Spotify issues on a recent episode of his podcast. “Zero. It’s never come up. Now, is there someone at Spotify that’s complaining about the Abigail Shrier episode? I’m sure. I’m sure there’s someone who is complaining about it. Is it a transphobic episode? It’s not. They’re wrong. It’s nothing to do with that. It has to do with the fact that human beings are actually malleable. We all know that. That’s why cults exist.
“There’s a thought process now that if you’re talking at all about trans people, you have to be 100 percent supportive. You can never question whether or not children should be allowed to transition, babies, hormone blockers for prepubescent children. All this is madness. Here’s the question — are there some people who are horribly sad that they transitioned and regret it terribly? The answer is yes. Are there some people who are happy that they transitioned and they’re much more happy in the gender of their choice, how they feel than the gender of their birth? The answer is also yes. Because people vary wildly.
“What Abigail is talking about in her book, Irreversible Damage, is large clusters of kids who are mostly kids that are socially awkward, many of them are autistic, many of them have never had any praise at all in their life, and they transition and they get all this praise from people. Because it is, right now, it’s in vogue.
“… 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. I am 100 percent for people being able to do whatever they want as long as it doesn’t harm other people. If you choose to do anything, whatever your personal choices, I am happy if you’re happy.”
Rogan Calls Out Hypocrisy
Rogan went a step further to add that he is talking on a podcast where sometimes he will say things he doesn’t mean.
He also called out the hypocrisy of the “woke” employees at Spotify, especially given some of the lyrics in rap songs that are featured on the Spotify library.
“… I’m talking off the top of my head. And a lot of times I’m saying sh*t that I don’t even mean,” Rogan added. “Because I’m saying it because this is a f*cking podcast. And if you have a problem with people saying terrible sh*t and you work for Spotify, maybe you should listen to some of the lyrics. Okay, because some of the lyrics and some of the f*cking music that you guys play over and over and over again makes my sh*t pale in comparison. Pale!
“… But I get it, if you’re a 23-year-old woke kid and you’re working for this company and you think you’re gonna put your foot down? I get it.”
You can watch the full episode below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikJq6wcgrXI
