The comments appear to violate Spotify’s platform rules
Joe Rogan has caused yet more controversy after the most recent episode of his podcast in which he and his guest appear to glorify child sex abuse.
It’s the latest in a series of controversies from Joe Rogan and his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, after accusations from musicians and scientists that he uses his podcast to spread covid misinformation, and recent anger over his use of racist language in his podcast.
In the most recent episode of his podcast, from February 8, Rogan and his guest, standup comic Akaash Singh said that underage boys who have sexual relationships with older women will “be fine” as long as the woman is not “gross.”
During the three-hour interview, the pair discusses a female friend of Rogan’s who allegedly had an affair with a 30-year-old teacher when she was in high school, the Independent reports. They then discussed songs from the past that appear to be about men admiring underage women.
Referencing The Police’s “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” or Gene Simmons “Christine Sixteen”, Rogan noted: “No one would write a song about that today. You’d be like, wait a minute, are you saying you want to f*** kids? Is that your song? Hey! No! I’m not gonna – I’m just saying don’t stand so close to me.”
He went on to say that the “crazy thing” is that “no one gives a f**k if it’s a 15-year-old boy and a 30-year-old lady” before Singh interjected: “G’s up.”
Then Rogan mentions a Zach Galifianakis joke about a boy who died because he was having an affair with his high school teacher, concluding: “You don’t feel bad at all.”
When Singh pointed out that there’s an age where having sex with an adult would “f*** the kid for sure”, Rogan said that even at 13, “he’s going to be fine if he’s got a good dad.”
Spotify's Joe Rogan and comedian Akaash Singh mock child sex abuse and claim it's “fine” for boys to have sex with adult women
Rogan: "You don’t feel bad at all. … Even 13, he's going to be fine if he’s got a good dad. You're going to be fine, kid, keep moving. Walk it off.” pic.twitter.com/OgyP7CcJqY
— Alex Paterson (@AlexPattyy) February 8, 2022
He added: “You’re going to be fine, kid, keep moving. Walk it off. Listen, you found out about something awesome early. But it depends on what the woman looks like.”
Although the podcast host admitted that an affair between a “giant football player-looking lady” and an underage boy would be “gross” he said that if the woman looked “like Sofia Vergara” then “you’re like, ‘you son of a b**ch’, you know.”
And Singh then mentioned the case of high school teacher Mary Kay Letourneau, who was jailed for raping her sixth-grade student in 1996. He said that Letourneau was “not that bad looking.”
Your daily reminder, because apparently that's needed:
🚩Children can't consent to sex
🚩You can't have sex with a child, you can only rape a child.
🚩You can't "walk off" child sexual abuse.
🚩This isn't a joke. https://t.co/0y69JTfBXE— Dr. Ann Olivarius (@AnnOlivarius) February 9, 2022
Spotify’s platform rules prohibit content from “promoting, normalising, or glorifying child grooming behaviours.”
Rogan and Spotify are coming under increasing pressure for the content that is put out on the podcast, with many calling for the streaming platform to take action against the podcast host.
He has previously been accused of using his podcast to spout covid and vaccine misinformation.
If you or anyone you know has been raped or sexually assaulted, you can find help and confidential support at Rape Crisis, by visiting your nearest centre, calling 0808 802 9999 or by visiting their website. Alternatively you can visit the NHS website for more information.
Related links:
- More musicians drop music from Spotify amid Joe Rogan misinformation row
- Taylor Swift fans call on star to pull music from Spotify over Joe Rogan
- Joe Rogan defends podcast and apologises to Spotify amid covid misinformation backlash
