Joe Rogan's Spotify Rift: Conservative Rumble Offers Podcaster $100 Million to Join Platform; Dwayne Johnson Second-Guesses Support for Rogan
Conservative video-sharing platform Rumble is offering podcaster Joe Rogan to leave Spotify, proposing $100 million for the deed.
Rumble tweeted at Rogan, saying that it is "ready to fight" beside him if he ever decides to leave the music streaming platform, according to a Business Insider News report.
Rumble attached a letter from their CEO Chris Pavlovski, containing the $100 million offer for four years. Spotify and Rogan sealed the deal for his podcast in May 2020. It was unclear when that exclusivity expires or if Rogan could immediately move the podcast elsewhere. Rogan then acknowledged that he could do more research before discussing controversial guests, such as those who first brought the show under scrutiny for airing anti-vaccine views. Rogan has also used his show to promote the horse drug ivermectin as a COVID-19 cure. He also said that Americans were "hypnotized" into wearing masks. The American podcaster also claimed that healthy people do not need to get vaccinated against COVID-19, all while saying that he is pro-vaccine.
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Joe Rogan and Artists
Spotify artists had withdrawn their music from the platform to show their disagreement. The artists who boycotted the music-streaming platform include Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. Meanwhile, Dwayne Johnson, also known as "The Rock," initially expressed his support for Rogan. However, the actor backtracked after he has "become educated" about Rogan's use of a racial slur, according to a CNN Entertainment report. American author Don Winslow had a Twitter engagement with Johnson, wherein he said that Rogan used and laughed about using the N-word dozens of times.
Johnson thanked Winslow for letting him know about it and said that he was not aware of Rogan's use of the N-word.
Spotify responded to the controversy by saying that it would add a content advisory to podcasts on its platform that discuss the pandemic, according to a Fox News report.
Rogan also vowed that he would do his best to "balance things out" with other discussions relating to the pandemic.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek apologized to his staff in a memo and noted that the company and Rogan's team agreed to remove a number of episodes from the platform.
Ek condemned Rogan's use of the racial slur. However, he added that he does not believe in "silencing" Rogan.
Ek also said that Spotify would be investing $100 million in licensing, development, and marketing of music and audio content from "historically marginalized groups."
Podcast host Dinesh D'Souza said that Rogan should upload all his episodes on Rumble, particularly the ones removed by Spotify.
D'Souza then added that Rogan will never be safe on Spotify, saying that he would always have to look over his shoulder. He then urged Rogan to move to Rumble.
Other Twitter users have other opinions, such as @max_bishop01 tweeting that if Rogan would move to Rumble, it would prove that the whole thing is "about money, not truth."
MMA fighter Renzo Gracie said that "a champion has always a place to go" on the news of Rumble's offer to Rogan.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: RUMBLE Offers Joe Rogan $100 MILLION DOLLARS & NO CENSORSHIP to Bring JRE to their Platform! - Black and White Network