Joe Rogan has responded to a viral clip of him using the N-word over 20 times on his controversial podcast The Joe Rogan Experience.
In a response video, he called the clip “the most regretful and shameful thing I’ve ever had to talk about publicly” and hoped the controversy would be a “teachable moment” for others.
The 54-year-old UFC commentator also addressed a clip in which he compared a black neighborhood to The Planet of the Apes.
Joe Rogan has also received mountains of criticism for promoting COVID-19 vaccine misinformation.
The viral video of the JRE host using racial slurs picked up steam after Grammy-winning singer and songwriter India Arie cited his repeated use of the N-word as her reason for removing her music from Spotify.
Joe Rogan joined Spotify in 2020 after signing a reported $100 million deal with them to license his wildly popular podcast.
Neil Young was the first musician to request his music be removed from Spotify due to Rogan’s podcast.
His move inspired podcasters and other musicians to make a move from the streaming company such as Joni Mitchell, Neil Lofgren, Brene Brown, Roxane Gay, and Mary Trump.
Joe Rogan apologizes for his use of racial slurs in a 5-minute-long video
Rogan addressed his use of the N-word in the 5-minute-long response, referring to the viral video as “out of context” snippets from “12 years of conversations” on his show.
“It looks f**king horrible. Even to me,” he said about the resurfaced clip.
He admitted his use of the slur is wrong regardless of the context.
“I know that to most people, there is no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word, never mind publicly on a podcast, and I agree with that now. I haven’t said it in years.”
He continued, “Instead of saying the N-word, I would just say the word. I thought as long as it was in context, people would understand what I was doing.”
The JRE host referenced Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor, and many others as examples of the context in which he used the word, arguing that he did not disparagingly use the term.
Joe Rogan admits his story about visiting a black neighborhood was racist
The podcaster addressed a clip of him referring to a black neighborhood as Planet of the Apes after being dropped off to see the movie with friends in Philadelphia.
He denied referring to Black people as apes in the video.
“I was trying to make the story entertaining,” Rogan claimed. “I did not, nor did I ever say that Black people are apes, but it sure f**king sounded like that.”
He went on to admit the comparison was racist, continuing: “I immediately afterward said, ‘That’s a racist thing to say.’ Planet of the Apes wasn’t even in Africa.”
Rogan called his visit to the black neighborhood to watch a movie there a “positive experience.”
He concluded the video with an apology, adding that the video of him repeatedly using the N-word “makes him sick.”