JOE ROGAN CONTROVERSY

Never in a million years did I think that there would be this much conversation surrounding a former host of FEAR FACTOR, but here we are. I’m of course talking about Joe Rogan. The comedian, who hosts one of the most popular podcasts on Spotify (and probably anywhere), has seen a slew of recent controversy around alleged misinformation about COVID-19—which has led high-profile talent like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, to pull their own catalogs from the platform in protest. India.Arie pulled her catalog as well, and shared a disturbing series of videos of him using the N-word on multiple occasions. Rogan has since apologized and says he is anti-racist, which begs the question: What happens when someone with Joe Rogan’s platform, who says they are anti-racist, is in fact outted for spewing the bigotry they deny? Spotify is dealing with a lot of the backlash, saying they see this as a freedom of speech issue. But the deeper issue here is a question of what platforms like Spotify will do when they ultimately have to choose between their talent and growing segments of their audience.

—Eden Bekele, Digital Associate