Comedian and podcast host Joe Rogan has been in the hot seat for many weeks now after a video compilation surfaced of him saying the N-word and referring to black people as apes, among other statements, in a collection of old podcast episodes. Though Rogan issued an apology for his past actions and admitted his wrongs, social media has not gotten off his case.
He continues to trend on different platforms and several important names in the industry have shared their opinions.
Among them, Joe Budden, artist and host of The Joe Budden Podcast, shared his thoughts on the entire situation in a recent episode. In his weekly sit-down with his co-hosts, Ice and Ish, the three men dive into the Joe Rogan uproar and give their take on it.
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What starts as a debate of whether or not the term “shock jock” (referring to radio or talk show host who expressed their opinions in an offensive way) has any sort of racial connotations, soon devolves into a Rogan discussion. Budden’s stance was that the phrase is used in a way to penalize black hosts– which he then connected to Joe Rogan’s situation considering the fact that it is a possible slur.
As they dive into the issue at hand, Budden claims he foreshadowed Rogan’s behavior years ago-- or at least, tried to warn people about it. At the five-minute mark in the video clip below, Budden states, “5 years ago I came in here and said– as just somebody observing the podcast scene and he’s obviously the biggest broadcaster in the world. ‘Hey, does anybody know that he said such and such and such and such?’ My fan base said, ‘Shut the f**k up,” at the time. Other people said, ‘Shut the f**k up.’ Black people.”
The trio continued their discussion by explaining the hypocrisy when it comes to freedom of speech. “It’s crazy how when a powerful white person says some s**t,” stated Ish, “now your first amendment rights come into play. Right?... If we came in here and said the derogatory words about certain groups, you’d f**k around and be canceled.”
While the three men did not excuse Rogan’s actions, they also attested to the fact that they cannot say for sure that he is a racist just because of his remarks.
Budden continued, “White people are allowed to say things that other people are not allowed to say. I am not calling anybody a racist. You can say something and not hate somebody. I can say something here and totally not hate a group that I’m offending, but that part don’t matter.”
Ice chimed in, “Intent don’t matter. It’s just the act. You did it.”
The hosts also came to the agreement that Spotify, the app that has a prominent relationship with the comedian, will not cut ties despite the mess it has caused them publicly. Even though the platforms’ CEO, Daniel Ek, issued a statement, Budden attested, “They’re not backing off of Joe Rogan. He’s bringing too much cash in.”
They ended the segment by concluding that black people would not receive the same treatment if the roles were reversed.
What are your thoughts on the entire situation? Check out the video below.