Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Weighs in on Joe Rogan Spotify Podcast Controversy

By Michael Hein

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson applauded Joe Rogan for his apology video on Sunday as protests over Rogan's misinformation continue to pile up. Many musical artists have been pulling their songs from the Spotify library since the streamer has an exclusive deal with Rogan, who has shared misinformation about COVID-19 on his podcast. When Rogan apologized, Johnson seemed to take him at his word.

Rogan posted a video on Instagram on Sunday just under 10 minutes long, where he apologized for spreading misinformation and promised to "do better." Johnson had one of the top comments on the post, reading: "Great stuff here brother. Perfectly articulated. Look forward to coming on one day and breaking out the tequila with you." The A-list guest offer was no doubt a huge balm to Rogan and Spotify after all the broken partnerships and bad press of the last few weeks.

Other stars left similar comments praising Rogan and indicating their friendship and support. Fellow comedian Kevin James wrote: "Joe – we go way back and all these years I've known you to be nothing but objective and truth-seeking. Thank you. Love you brother," while Jewel wrote: "You're doing a great job. Keep it up."

Still, some of Rogan's harshest critics left their own comments rolling their eyes at his apology and questioning the stars who were pledging their support. Many pointed out that the musical artists pulling their songs from Spotify had real grievances with the streaming platform that go beyond Rogan's misinformation. They were detailed at length in a Twitter thread by the band Eve 6.

In his video, Rogan said: "I'm not trying to promote misinformation, I'm not trying to be controversial. I've never tried to do anything with this podcast other than just talk to people and have interesting conversations."

Spotify announced on Sunday that it will add a new content advisory to any podcast which discusses COVID-19, and it will direct listeners to a COVID-19 information hub with the latest facts from trusted sources. Rogan said he supported this move, adding: "I want to thank Spotify for being so supportive during this time. And I'm very sorry that this is happening to them, and that they're taking so much heat from it."

Rogan did not address the criticisms for his frequent and prolific use of the "N-word" on his podcast, or other issues that fall outside of the COVID-19 misinformation realm. At the time of this writing, more artists including Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and India Arie are still withholding their music from Spotify.

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