Hollywood star Dwayne Johnson has rallied around podcaster Joe Rogan after he took to social media to speak out against allegations of...
Hollywood star Dwayne Johnson has rallied around podcaster Joe Rogan after he took to social media to speak out against allegations of 'spreading Covid misinformation' on his Spotify show.
Rogan took to Instagram on Sunday to announce he would try to 'balance things out' after he was accused by singer Neil Young and a host of liberal stars of spreading 'misinformation' via his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE).
The podcaster, 54, who has been vocal about the government's lack of transparency around the pandemic, also said he was only seeking to have conversations with people who have 'differing opinions'.
His comments came after he hosted American cardiologist Dr Peter McCullough and American virologist and immunologist Dr Robert Malone, both of whom were critical of the way in which the pandemic has been handled in the US.
The move sparked an onslaught of criticism among a number of famous names and Spotify was left facing an exodus of talent from stars including Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Bruce Springsteen guitarist Nils Lofgren.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex - who recently inked a $25 million deal with Spotify - said they too had reached out to the streaming giant to 'express our concerns' about Rogan's podcast.
In response to Rogan's video, actor Dwayne Johnson wrote: 'Great stuff here brother. Perfectly articulated.Look forward to coming on one day and breaking out the tequila with you.'
The actor now joins a number of famous names, including Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson and CNN commentator Mary Katharine Ham, who have voiced their support for the podcaster.
Actor Dwayne Johnson voiced his support for Joe Rogan after the podcaster was accused of 'spreading Covid misinformation'
Podcaster Joe Rogan took to Instagram on Sunday to announce he would try to 'balance things out' after he was accused of spreading 'misinformation' via his Spotify podcast The Joe Rogan Experience
Johnson took to the podcaster's Instagram page to write: 'Great stuff here. Perfectly articulated.'
This week Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson wrote on Twitter: 'I'm triple vaxxed, but (unless they're standing for hate or calling for violence) banning someone's podcast is too much like burning a book to me.
'Joe Rogan should talk on his podcast about whatever he damn well pleases.'
Meanwhile CNN commentator Mary Katharine Ham said: 'I don't mind that I disagree with him sometimes, enjoy long-form interviews with interesting people that not a lot of people do, am suspicious of motives for shutting him up, & am weirded out by how many people desire it.'
And former presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard wrote on Twitter: 'I get the feeling some people are using Joe Rogan's Covid interview as a pretext to silence his voice because he's not woke.
'Zealots of wokeism try to censor voices who don't agree with theirs, because they fear the absurdity and weakness of their positions will be exposed.'
Human rights activist and founder of the AHA Foundation, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, said: 'This is exactly why Joe Rogan's podcast is so popular. He is open to different perspectives and listens to people without judgement.'
While commentator Ben Shapiro said: 'They aren't upset with Joe Rogan because of his Covid-19 perspective. They're angry at him because he talks with people they hate. And they can't stand that.'
The controversy was sparked by Rogan's two recent episodes of the podcast in which he spoke with Dr Peter McCullough and virologist and immunologist Dr Robert Malone who expressed views that were contrary to much of the Covid information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and mainstream media outlets.
The podcaster also criticized the American government and the CDC's approach to the pandemic since late 2020, speaking out against vaccine mandates, vaccine passes and enforced mask wearing, while cautioning healthy young people under pressure to get jabbed.
The move sparked an onslaught of criticism among a number of famous names including Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Bruce Springsteen guitarist Nils Lofgren.
Young last week threatened to remove his music from Spotify unless Spotify fired Rogan but the streaming giant refused to do this.
The folk-rock singer then boycott Spotify and began offering listeners a free four-month subscription to Amazon's streaming service saying: 'Amazon has been leading the pack in bringing hi-res audio to the masses, and it's a great place to enjoy my entire catalogue in the highest quality available.'
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex - who recently inked a $25 million deal with Spotify - said they too had reached out to the streaming giant to 'express our concerns' about Rogan's podcast.
But the couple have not split with the firm, instead saying they were 'committed to continuing our work together' as it addressed their issues.
A spokesman for the Sussexes said: 'Since the inception of [their non-profit organisation] Archewell, we have worked to address the real-time global misinformation crisis.
'Hundreds of millions of people are affected by the serious harms of mis- and disinformation every day.
'Last April, our co-founders began expressing concerns to our partners at Spotify about the all too real consequences of Covid misinformation on its platform.
'We have continued to express our concerns to Spotify to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health crisis.
'We look to Spotify to meet this moment and are committed to continuing our work together as it does.'
Addressing the allegations on Instagram Rogan, who has an estimated 11 million listeners, said: 'I'm just a person who sits down and talks to people and has conversations with them.
Singer Neil Young accused Rogan of spreading 'misinformation' and threatened to remove his music from Spotify unless Spotify fired Rogan
Joni Mitchell also joined Neil Young in removing her music from Spotify in protest against Joe Rogan
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex said they too had reached out to the streaming giant to 'express our concerns' but the couple have not split with the firm
'Do I get things wrong? Absolutely. I get things wrong, but I try to correct them.
'Whenever I get something wrong, I try to correct it because I'm interested in telling the truth. I'm interested in finding out what the truth is. And I'm interested in having interesting conversations with people that have differing opinions. I'm not interested in only talking to people that have one perspective.'
He added: 'I would like to talk to some people that have differing opinions on those podcasts in the future. We'll see. You know, I do all the scheduling myself, and I don't always get it right.
'This, these podcasts are very strange because they're just conversations. And oftentimes I have no idea what I'm going to talk about until I sit down and talk to people and that's why some of my ideas are not that prepared or fleshed out because I'm literally having them in real time.
'But I do my best. And they're just conversations. And I think that's also the appeal of the show.
'It's one of the things that makes it interesting. So I want to thank Spotify for being so supportive during this time. And I'm very sorry that this is happening to them, and that they're taking so much heat from it.'
The host also said he was 'not trying to be controversial' and just wanted to have 'interesting conversations'.
He continued: 'I'm not trying to promote misinformation, I'm not trying to be controversial.
'I've never tried to do anything with this podcast other than just talk to people and have interesting conversations.'
The Joe Rogan Experience is Spotify's highest-rated show, with each episode bringing over 10 million listeners.
The streaming service cut a deal believed to be worth over $100 million in late 2020 for the exclusive rights to host Rogan's podcast - which initially aired on YouTube.
In the days following Young's accusations against Rogan, Spotify's market value dropped more than $2 billion, with shares tumbling by around 12 per cent.
But on Monday Spotify's share price climbed back up after Joe Rogan addressed the controversy.
Spotify shares were going for $197.1 in after-hours trading on Monday evening, after falling to about $165.2 on Friday following the blowback from several musicians.
It came as Taylor Swift fans called on the 32-year-old pop star to remove her music from the service in solidarity with Young and Mitchell.
On Sunday, Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek laid out plans to introduce more transparent platform rules following Young's allegations but stressed the importance of free speech and providing a platform that shares differing views.
Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek (pictured) said stressed the importance of free speech and providing a platform that shares differing views
Spotify released a statement Sunday saying that while it doesn't always 'get it right, we are committed to learning, growing and evolving'
Rogan said he was 'not trying to be controversial' and just wanted to have 'interesting conversations'
He said: 'Personally, there are plenty of individuals and views on Spotify that I disagree with strongly.
'It is important to me that we don't take on the position of being content censor while also making sure that there are rules in place and consequences for those who violate them.'
Mr Ek said his company was working to add a content advisory to all podcast episodes that discuss Covid.
'This advisory will direct listeners to our dedicated COVID-19 Hub, a resource that provides easy access to data-driven facts, up-to-date information as shared by scientists, physicians, academics and public health authorities around the world, as well as links to trusted sources,' he said.
'This new effort to combat misinformation will roll out to countries around the world in the coming days. To our knowledge, this content advisory is the first of its kind by a major podcast platform.'
He said his team is also exploring ways to promote its platform rules so that content creators better understand the expectations.
'We take this seriously and will continue to partner with experts and invest heavily in our platform functionality and product capabilities for the benefit of creators and listeners alike,' Ek said.
'That doesn't mean that we always get it right, but we are committed to learning, growing and evolving.'
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