Dwayne Johnson Backtracks Joe Rogan Support
Dwayne Johnson is backtracking his public support for Joe Rogan amidst the podcaster’s ongoing Spotify controversy. After a clip of Rogan saying the N-word more than 20 times has resurfaced online and made aware to Johnson, the actor thanked fans for making him more “educated” about Rogan.
The clips were shared by musician India.Arie, who announced on Instagram that she was removing her music from Spotify on last week (February 1) because of Rogan’s “language around race.” Neil Young and Joni Mitchell are among some other musicians who also asked Spotify to remove their music from the service in opposition to the streaming giant’s affiliation with Rogan. As we earlier reported, Johnson commented on a video Rogan posted on Instagram regarding the controversy, saying that he looked “forward to coming on one day and breaking out the tequila” with him.
Elaborating on her Instagram Story, Arie shared a compilation from Joe Rogan’s podcast episodes that was stitched together. The singer showed a clip where Rogan compares a Black neighborhood in Philadelphia to being in the film Planet of the Apes. “In no uncertain terms where I stand on this is, he shouldn’t even be uttering the word,” Arie told her followers. “Don’t even say it – under any context. Don’t say it.”
On Twitter, author Don Winslow wrote to Johnson, “You’re a hero to many people and using your platform to defend Joe Rogan, a guy that used and laughed about using the N word dozens of times, is a terrible use of your power. Have you actually listened to this man’s many racist statements about Black people?”
Johnson thanked Winslow for bringing the clips to his attention, and said, “Thank you so much for this, I hear you as well as everyone here 100 per cent. I was not aware of his N word use prior to my comments, but now I’ve become educated to his complete narrative. Learning moment for me. Mahalo, brother and have a great & productive weekend.”
Dear @donwinslow
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) February 5, 2022
Thank you so much for this
I hear you as well as everyone here 100%
I was not aware of his N word use prior to my comments, but now I've become educated to his complete narrative.
Learning moment for me.
Mahalo, brother and have a great & productive weekend.
DJ https://t.co/3mBf85wRoe
Per The Independent, Spotify has quietly removed 113 episodes of Rogan’s most controversial podcast episodes.
