Taking it back: Dwayne Johnson rescinded his previous support for Joe Rogan on Friday following a video of the podcast host’s frequent use of the n-word going viral.
Amid the controversy surrounding Rogan’s penchant for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 on his podcast, which has prompted Neil Young and numerous other artists to pull their music from Spotify, Johnson had initially landed on the side of The Joe Rogan Experience host.
The actor previously left a comment of encouragement on Rogan’s Instagram, writing, “Great stuff here brother. Perfectly articulated. Look forward to coming on one day and breaking out the tequila with you.”
However, all that changed after he became aware of the former Fear Factor host’s frequent habit of using the racial slur thanks to a compilation video shared by India.Arie to explain her reasons for leaving Spotify and brought to the star’s on Twitter by author Don Winslow, who wrote, “Dear @TheRock, 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?”
“Dear @donwinslow, Thank you so much for this I hear you as well as everyone here 100%,” Johnson replied. “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.”
Rogan has already issued a lengthy apology video for the slurs after 70 episodes of his hit podcast were quietly removed from Spotify without any official comment from the streaming giant. Meanwhile, a new study has reportedly found that 19 percent of Spotify’s subscriber base have either already unsubscribed or plan to because of the backlash.
Check out Johnson’s updated view on Rogan below.
Dear @donwinslow
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— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) February 5, 2022
