“People should be free to make up their own minds about the Covid vaccine” has replaced “I’m an independent thinker” for the “I’m a douche” shorthand. Too many people are equating vaccines with “freedom” and they are beyond stupid. Be on the lookout for all of the variants too, like Joe Rogan, the patron saint of Bernie bros, incels, neo-Nazis and dumbasses. Rogan has a wildly popular Spotify podcast where he chimes in on news stories, politics and pop culture. Rogan has some thoughts about the Covid vaccines:
Joe Rogan, one of the world’s highest paid and most popular podcast hosts, is giving air to anti-vaccine narratives. On his Spotify exclusive podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Rogan told listeners that if a 21-year-old asked him if they should get vaccinated, he would suggest no.
“People say, do you think it’s safe to get vaccinated? I’ve said, yeah, I think for the most part it’s safe to get vaccinated. I do. I do,” Rogan said on the podcast. “But if you’re like 21 years old, and you say to me, should I get vaccinated? I’ll go no. Are you healthy? Are you a healthy person? If you’re a healthy person, and you’re exercising all the time, and you’re young, and you’re eating well,” Rogan continued, “like, I don’t think you need to worry about this.”
Media Matters brought attention to the podcast episode on Tuesday, which was released on April 23. Since signing Rogan to a licensing deal reportedly worth more than $100 million, Spotify is no stranger to controversy spurred by the star’s remarks. Rogan apologized in September for spreading misinformation about the West Coast fires. Spotify did not respond to a request for comment about Rogan’s recent episode.
Rogan, who was speaking with comedian Dave Smith on the episode, said his children both got Covid-19 but had minor symptoms. “I hate to say that if someone’s children died from this. I’m very sorry that that happened. I’m not in any way diminishing that,” Rogan said. “But I’m saying the personal experience that my children had with Covid was nothing.” As Rogan acknowledged, children are not immune to Covid-19. In fact, more younger people are getting hospitalized as new variants emerge. And even if a healthy young person were to get the virus and experience minor symptoms, they still risk spreading the disease.
WTF? “Are you a healthy person? If you’re a healthy person, and you’re exercising all the time, and you’re young, and you’re eating well, like, I don’t think you need to worry about this.” Covid-19 was and is knocking down plenty of healthy 20-somethings and 30-somethings. Some of those healthy, elite-level tennis players who contracted the virus have talked about how it was no f–king joke, that they felt like hell for months, that they’re lucky to have survived. Eating well and exercising is great, but youth and a healthy lifestyle doesn’t make you bulletproof from the virus. And why f–king chance it? Especially if you’re an American or you live in a country with easy vaccine access? Just get the damn vaccine and stop listening to Joe Rogan.
Also: Page Six is trying to make this about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, because they have a contract with Spotify too. A source close to the Sussexes allegedly told Page Six: “Harry and Meghan will be less than thrilled with Spotify, it’s hugely embarrassing for them. And they have to think, ‘Do we really want to be on the same banner as Joe Rogan?’” This is like the sad little British-tabloid fantasy that Harry would pull out of the Netflix deal because of The Crown.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
I can’t stand this ignorant pig.
Pigs are intelligent and sensitive creatures. Men, on the other hand… often disappoint. Exhibit Zzzzz: Joe Rogan.
Eh. Pigs like to torment and murder for fun, too. They’re a lot like humans.
me neither. ‘roid rager.
and a sadist, IMO. the way he seemed to take pleasure in the discomfort of people, ESPECIALLY women, on Fear Factor grossed me out.
Well, my daughter is a healthy 21 year old and she and all her friends got vaccinated as soon as they could. So no one cares what this cretin has to say on the matter.
We could have ended that heading at “Joe Rogan doesn’t think”.
Ding, ding, ding… we have a winner!
Why would anyone value the medical opinion of a guy whose chief qualification is unfounded arrogance? Lol, please, little man.
But using steroids or HGH is perfectly safe and “healthy,” right, Joe?
This!!!
I still can’t believe the guy from Talk radio and Fear Factor has such an influential podcast.
News Radio but yeah isn’t it totally bizarre? I have no idea why he is so popular. I disliked him on that show, not sure why but it was just a vibe he give off, and years later turned out I was right.
I hope he faces some sort of repercussion for this. This is the kind of idiotic thinking that has us where we are, just because his two children didn’t suffer terribly, millions of others should avoid the vaccine? It’s just so stupid.
Guess he just LOVES this pandemic and wants to keep it going!
Well, they might not be healthy 21 year olds if they refuse the vaccine. And just because Joe’s (privileged, private healthcare-accessing) kids were “fine” doesn’t mean everyone will be. In my province, a 13 year old recently died from this. 13 years old. Eff you Rogan.
There’s also increasing evidence that Long Covid is hitting younger people who originally had just mild infections so along with the fact that being vaccinated cuts down your risk of transmitting it to someone more vulnerable, this idiot needs to STFU.
Joe Rogan is also a meatball head and kids shouldn’t be taking health advice from him.
no…according to my ER MD friend, the 20 somethings should have been the first to be vaccinated because, even if they don’t get too sick — which is changing btw w the new variants, they’re the super spreaders among us because they’re out and about, not nec at parties, but working, riding public transport, getting the groceries, etc. then coming home and spreading it to more vulnerable family members. She’s seen it esp in certain Asian communities where multi-generational families living or at least socializing together has been harder to limit. Just FYI, so yeah, stay in your lane Rogan…
Sue denim: totally accurate. People in their twenties with high contact jobs serving, at grocery stores, in retail etc, are getting sick so this Joe Rogan person needs to shut it. How wildly irresponsible!!!!
And even if they don’t get too sick, they spread it… So frustrating, these idiots w a megaphone…
THIS!!!!!
They’ve seen that even if young people don’t get “too sick”, they can still have long term health effects like an enlarged heart.
Right. They’re saying these new strains cause fewer symptoms but a whole lot more organ damage, too.
What a jerk.
If you’re young and healthy and have your whole life ahead of you, do you REALLY want to risk becoming disabled for life if you are unlucky and end up a long hauler? Do you really want to risk living under the weight of guilt and shame in the event that you bring COVID home to your parents and maybe kill mom or dad? If you’re a young guy, do you want to maybe end up impotent or infertile (it’s a potential thing if you get COVID)?
This guy is a jerk. I did not do well with my shots AT ALL but I’m grateful to be vaccinated and if I can tolerate the boosters, I’ll get those too. People need to get vaccinated. And dumb arses like this guy need to shut their traps.
I hate Joe Rogan. I also hate Page Six trying to link it to H&M because can we/they have any news without any association to them.
That said, this highlights the need for H&M to stick with Spotify to be that high profile intelligent counter narrative to people like Joe Rogan. So no Page Six, glad you got some click bait, but H&M shouldn’t move on. It shows why they’re needed at the table.
Yeah that was a hefty reach on their part
Tell that to the healthy 13 year old who just died of Covid in Ontario… asshat.
And the 17 year old who died in Alberta..
…and the eight year old who died in Hawaii!
And a 6yo who just died in sw MN
I’ve been reading articles from doctors begging people to social distance and wear masks, especially young people because there are more 20 something year olds coming into hospital and dying than people think. So fuck his dumb “advice”.
And I doubt anybody close to the Sussexes is talking to Page Six. That quote is nothing but a fantasy for them because they want the Sussexes broke and begging the monarchy to come back.
this man is an idiot. no one should be taking healthcare advice from him.
I would disagree that “Bernie Bros” are among the things Joe Rogan is patron saint of. Wrong podcast host. The Bernie Bros’ patron saints are the guys from Chapo Trap House. You’re right about Rogan being the patron saint of incels, neo-nazis, and dumbasses though.
No, Kaiser’s not wrong about that. It goes back to when Rogan sort of endorsed Bernie, or was Bernie-curious, whatever was going on there. A HUGE deal was made by people like Sirota and that other idiot, Briahna Joy Grey. Not to mention Greenwald, the intercept fools, the list was long. Lining up to kiss Rogan ass, while throwing the Dem base under the bus. Outright mocking democrats for having an issue with courting Rogan. Mocking us. Relentlessly. I can post receipts, not a problem.
Yep. Joe Rogan is the horseshoe, where the right and the crap left meet in the form of a steroid freak bland man.
Hate to tell you, but Bernie supporters would get into a war with each other over pizza toppings. All we agreed about was that we liked Bernie — or disliked him least. Glenn Greenwald, seriously? Ugh.
Agreed.
Most leftists do not like Rogan. He’s too libertarian. He had a moment where his fan base liked Bernie, and he promoted him.
Die hard Bernie Bros are Chapos for the most part.
From what I saw, it was more that we thought the Rogan-hate was overblown when Fox News and such were still out there. And, you know, massive income inequality, people not having healthcare, police brutality, supporting genocide in Yemen…
Page should stay out of the truth telling business, because they’re not very good at it.
The reporter that wrote that bogus story about the Government paying for Kamala Harris books to be given to every unaccompanied minor at the border, resign for lying about the story.
She said she was forced to write the story, but someone she lied about, asked if she was forced to write about her sextexting former politician Anthony Weiner also.
Working for any Murdock business, lying is a prerequisite.
His argument makes no sense. It’s safe but you shouldn’t take it? He isn’t even saying he thinks it’s unnecessary, he’s saying young ppl shouldn’t take it.
Then he’s using children as a comparison to young adults. Children can afford to be home and taken care of by their parents. Young adults don’t usually have that kind of time.
We have had every expert under the sun try to explain to us how vaccines work and how viruses spread and mutate. Yet here we are, more than a year later, and these dumbas$es still can’t grasp herd immunity or even just the simple fact that spending two hours at the gym every day will not give you COVID immunity. I hate people. That is all.
Joe Rogan, I guess????, is entitled to say whatever bullshit he wants – free country and all. But it is disgusting he has such a huge platform to spill his ignorant bullshit. As others have pointed out, of course being young and healthy is great, BUT THAT DOES NOT GUARANTEE IMMUNITY FROM COVID!!! What the FUCK is so hard to comprehend about this???
Plus, our younger generations (the 20 somethings) are going to be the ones, running around down the beach, partying, going to bars and clubs!!!! Those will be the perfect environments for the virus to be spread if people ARE NOT vaccinated!
I just can’t with ignorant people anymore and Joe Rogan is ONE of them!
AmyB: in defence of young people they are also propping up our essential services by working in grocery stores, serving in restaurants and working low minimum wage retail jobs that force them to be around people all the time exposing them to the virus more.
@Watson yes true, even more reason for them to be vaccinated!
How did this talent less fool get a net worth of $100 million?
I am so tired of people being stubborn and stupid, yet they keep getting attention constantly.
I would take medical advice from a dog before I would ask Joe Rogan!
I didn’t realize he was a epidemiologist
One of my work colleagues is a guy who worships at the Joe Rogan (and Jordan Peterson) altar. And he’s pretty much a walking stereotype: he’s really short for a guy, so he overcompensates by being a gym rat with giant muscles (no neck), a beard that he tends to with way more effort than most women spend on their hair, and a permanent chip on his shoulder about how women are superficial and don’t appreciate real men like him. Now that most people in my state have access to vaccines, our CEO wants to plan a company off-site for the first time in over a year. And the asshole colleague refuses to get his vaccine and is quoting Joe rogan about how he exercises all the time and he’s young (31) and healthy. I hate these dudes. All of them. They’re terrible people.
Oh my god, I just came out of a long term relationship and rebounded with a guy who sounds exactly like your colleague, only 32 haha. Short, bearded, muscly, into Jordan Peterson and Joe Rogan, thinks modern feminism is unhealthy, eats mostly meat, loves Jungian psychology and the polarity of masculine and feminine energies (he is anti-trans, because of this). The worst part is that I completely fell for him despite all of the above – I’m trying to do some inner work to figure out what the heck it was that drew me to him, so I can try to heal that and seek out more well rounded partners in the future. Anyway, thanks for pointing out that this is a stereotype! I feel better for knowing it haha.
Just saw this and am sending you all the good vibes. These guys are sadly far too numerous!
He has some good guests on his show, but he is an actual moron. The luckiest moron in the world – how on earth did he become famous and a millionaire?!
Yeah, Tucker Carlson wants his minions to accost people wearing masks outdoors – the messages coming from these creeps will lead to even more division and fighting.
I watched the clip on twitter (wasn’t he with comedian Bill Burr? And good for Bill – he shut it down) and the way the tools suggest an idea with a little bit of room to back up and kind of course correct if it gets too much backlash really annoys me.
God, he’s going to get people killed.
One of the (many) issues with this argument is that people frequently have a misunderstanding of what healthy looks like in terms of Covid. The US statistically has incredibly high rates of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Obesity among young, 20-somethings is especially high, and we’re not talking my-600-pound life kind of obesity. We’re talking the medical kind that a lot of people don’t recognize. My husband, a type 2 diabetic, works out every day, limits his carbs, and wears a size medium t-shirt, and he is still technically overweight.
Don’t take medical advice from talk show hosts. Anyone who thinks they don’t need a vaccine needs to confirm that with their doctor.
The pandemic has been an issue for such a long time now and some people still haven’t figured out how unpredictable it is? At the beginning, my family and my dad’s doctors were worried that if he catches it, that’s it – he won’t make it because he’s disabled and has many different illnesses. And what? He caught it and it was basically asymptomatic. On the other hand, I’m 30-years old and rather healthy and I almost died, I was so sick. My friend who is basically a male Gwyneth (but healthier) in terms of clean eating – he doesn’t drink, smoke, eats only healthy stuff and excercises daily and after half a year from catching covid, he still has major health issues. There’s no logic behind it. 21-year old might get more sick than 70-year old so everyone should get vaccinated.
Oh man it’s complicated!
A lot of it has to do with the viral load you’re exposed to upon initial infection. Essentially if you are exposed to a lot of virus particles you can have a more intense infection. Young adults/children also have stronger immune systems so their bodies have a much more intense inflammatory response. This is also what caused a lot of young adult/child deaths during the 1918 flu pandemic.
Unfortunately, for ‘long covid’ I haven’t read much explanation for it.
Joe Rogan and t*ump are honestly not that different. Rich men who say controversial crap and then say “but I have also said the opposite!” To cover themselves. I hope men figure out a new way to exist, and to stop prioritizing giving those jerks platforms.
Male version of Jenny McCarthy. Eating well and exercise has zero to do with Covid. Cancel culture, do your stuff.
I remember a while back there was a study showing that many college athletes (young healthy people) who had Covid, even asymptomatic, had heart and lung issues. There’s a healthy young NBA professional athlete who needs an inhaler before every game. A young college kid I know was horribly sick and give it to his entire family at the beginning of the pandemic.
Rogan and his fellow idiots need to STFU. Everyone who can get vaccinated needs to. Otherwise this is never ever going to end.
I’ve read that the population section refusing vaccination is mostly middle aged and younger white guys. And now here comes this dude bro Rogan spouting the same nonsense that this demographic worships. I swear, this pandemic is dragging on way longer than it should, and may never end, and it will be because of these white dude bros who think they can outsmart a virus and they’re too tough for a vaccine.
Why do people listen to Mr. Fear Factor as though he’s some kind of health expert?!
people who take their medical advice from people like this are usually the same ones who call Dr. Fauci “Doctor False-y”. I can’t even wrap my brain around this. And now Newt Gingrich is saying it’s strange how Pres. Biden is obsessed with COVID. Do any of these people know what is going on in this world?
I was shocked some weeks back to see how quickly the number of cases in people under 20 were rising in my middle/upper middle class suburban town, where people are very good about following mask guidelines. As of last week, of the total cases reported since the pandemic began, about 25% are now listed as people under age 20. Another 15% are people in their 20’s, so fully 40% of total cases since March 2020 are people under age 30. By contrast, cases among people age 60 and over, mostly from earlier days of the pandemic last year (vaccination has been available since January for 65+), are about 18%.
And apart from advising young people to play Russian roulette with their own health by skipping vaccination, a number are cases (like my sister-in-law’s sister’s family) where kids have given it to each other (e.g., college living arrangements) and then, to their families. Stupid stupid man.
Hey, segment of the population most likely to engage in the riskiest behaviors and spread the virus the most, here’s a way to support M4A by proving it works, protect your hot-girl/guy hook up summer, and get the world to open up again. But go ahead, take medical advice from the guy who dared you to eat cockroaches…
When I first heard about this guy, I had assumed he had some background in journalism or something actually relevant to the topics he discussed. Imagine my surprise when I discovered he was just your typically overconfident and undereducated, middle-aged white dude given way too much of a platform for his nonsense. Over time, he’s just proven to be such an obvious Trumper that it’s hilarious to me how many people try to pretend otherwise. Dude’s a f*cking idiot. People listening to him are idiots.
I think the current vaccine lineup is probably a little too strong for younger people (hence why you’re seeing the strong reactions there), and that’ll get fixed down the line with the boosters when there’s more time to refine them. But if young people want to be frank….the death statistics for 2020 show losses in their groups that we can’t account for outside COVID, so it’s definitely affecting us more than our current statistics are showing, and the newer variants are stronger, so…play your games, I guess.
And you know the way you can tell this is dumbass masculine posturing? Because there is one area where the vaccine rollout and CDC response can be deeply criticized: the handling of the J&J vaccine. That vaccine led to blood clots that were bad enough to leave three people dead, and moreover, only showed this reaction in a very specific demographic: younger women. The responsible thing for the CDC to do would have been to announce they were restricting the J&J vaccine to the elderly and young men and recommending young women get the Moderna or Pfizer. The fact that they’re not? Is INSANELY irresponsible to me and says a lot about how we value the health of women in this country. Didn’t hear a word about that from Joe, though, did you?
Birth control pills have a risk of blood clots, much more so than a vaccine. They always have. For decades. No one ever gave a thought to making it safer for women. Its expected that we assume a risk of “being a woman”. Why would a vaccine be any different. White dude bros making the rules, profiting off it, giving stupid “advice”. I’m so tired today…..so effing tired and raging.
I got the AstraZeneca vaccine last week. I’m glad I got it, but every ache and pain now quizzing myself on blood clot symptoms. And it’s no different than the 2 decades i spent on birth control pills, really.
Dr. FearFactor can stfu.
Don’t get me started on the birth control issue lol. It makes me so angry, especially because we can’t even have a complex conversation about it because you’ve got a whole political party that would happily make us barefoot and pregnant again if given the opportunity. Women should absolutely have access to reproductive control options, but we should be having a coinciding conversation about how women have been indoctrinated to hold the majority of the burden for the social responsibility and medical risks of preventing pregnancy. It becomes very clearly an issue embedded in patriarchal cultural norms, too, when you compare condom use rates between more progressive-egalitarian countries and nations like America.
This one just specifically infuriates me because this kind of shit is how you create anti-vaxxers. Not being transparent about the problems and limitations of modern medicine and proceeding with caution is antithetical to engaging people’s trust in the medical system.
Yes! @veronica
Ironically, a male birth control pill was in a trial phase a few years ago. The participants reported side effects such as moodiness, acne, weight gain,….and they stopped the trial!!! Those side effects, for MEN, unacceptable!
Meanwhile every woman reading the report on the outcomes and side effects was like “…is this a problem?”
I’m so ragey today.
Joe Rogan is a pig, and he needs to shut his mouth, uuugh cannot stand him.
What a f*cking bonehead. The 2 year old grandson of one of my closest friends caught covid at his daycare — then he infected his mother, who still hasn’t had her vaccination, and 4 year old brother. Why idiots like him are given airtime is beyond comprehension.
Yeah, why should healthy 21-year olds care about *others* and *the society they live in*? They’re probably maybe not gonna be fine if they catch it, so who cares about the ramifications of an entire segment of the population continuing to spread the disease and allowing it to mutate into new strains? People are just overreacting!
UGH. Fuck Joe Rogan and his tiny shriveled Fear Factor penis.
I don’t even know what that means but it needs to be said.
I despise Rogan outside of Fear Factor, some of his earlier stand up and Talk Radio. I’ve also listened to his podcast for maybe the last year here and there. He was once pretty funny! Then idk what happened. He started taking himself too seriously and the HGH melted his brain.
But to his podcast as a whole. It’s filled with dumb content. Lots of frat guy jokes. Lots of weird interviews that go nowhere with looong plugs for sponsors that tie into the interviews.
Lots of sports stuff. I swear one episode was 20 minutes of how much air is too much inside a basketball.
That said when he rips into topics about public safety he shows how insane his mind has a. He’s so uninformed. Deplatform him if this is the route he chooses.
Nothing new to add to previous comments, I completely agree. Just wanted to add…often when you are “21 and healthy” its just because you’ve lived a pretty easy life and your pre-existing health conditions haven’t been identified/tested yet. Often when taxed is when our weak spots flare up. (a friend that had a lifelong pending aneurism that didn’t show up until her late 20s comes to mind).
This is so stupid, but I would expect nothing less from Joe Rogan. I was lucky to not know that many people that got Covid here in L.A. BUT the people I knew that ended up on ventilators and now have heart and lung problems that will plague them for the rest of their lives were people that I knew from the gym late 20s – late 30s. In fantastic shape, enviable physique, etc. Now for all I know they had some underlying conditions that they were unaware of but Covid can hit anyone. Even if you think you won’t get the virus, why risk it? It’s not worth the long-term health effects that you could suffer. I just got my second Moderna dose yesterday. My shoulder is sore, and I have zero energy but it’s worth it to not have to worry about my health, and know that I’m doing my bit to protect others. So tired of giving douchebags like this air.
Bill Maher 2.0.
I’ve never heard of this guy but I do believe in freedom of speech. And I’ve always supported “my body = my choice”.
Times like this are really challenging tho.
I guess I missed the part where he got his medical degree and had been researching the SARS2-Covid viruses…
He is an arrogant, stupid person. I had the misfortune of having him as a client once. Ugh.
“Healthy” people don’t listen to Joe Rogan.