Dwayne Johnson has retracted his support for Joe Rogan after footage resurfaced online showing the podcaster’s use of racial slurs.
The clips, in which Rogan repeatedly uses the N-word, went viral in recent days after musician India Arie shared them on social media. She too has joined the likes of Neil Young and Joni Mitchell in removing her music from Spotify over the company’s support of the podcaster.
Rogan has come under intense fire in recent weeks after the publication of an open letter from 270 healthcare professionals. The letter accused Spotify of spreading COVID misinformation, citing Rogan’s podcast (The Joe Rogan Experience) and his recent interview with discredited anti-vax scientist Robert Malone.
Responding to the rising outrage, calls to boycott and the sharp drop in Spotify’s stock prices, the company announced it would begin publishing its platform rules and provide a content advisory on all podcasts discussing COVID. Since then, around one hundred episodes of Rogan’s podcast have been removed from the platform.
Rogan initially issued an apology video via Instagram, promising to “try harder to get people with differing opinions”.
His apology was greeted by praise from some celebrities, including Dwayne Johnson, who originally commented: “Great stuff here brother. Perfectly articulated. Look forward to coming on one day and breaking out the tequila with you.”
Now, after offensive clips of Rogan using the N-word resurfaced, Johnson appears to have retracted his support.
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
Replying to a tweet from author Don Winslow who questioned him over his stance, Johnson said: “Thank you for 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.”
You can find more celebrity news on our website and iOS & Android application.