Joe Rogan Tests Positive for COVID-19 Amid Tour With Dave Chappelle

Controversial talk show host and comedian Joe Rogan revealed on Wednesday that he has tested positive for COVID-19. Rogan is currently on tour with Dave Chapelle, and their Nashville stop at Bridgestone Arena has been rescheduled to October 24th due to his diagnosis. His team released a statement saying “Joe is doing well and has a mild case but he has tested positive for COVID-19.”

Rogan also took to Instagram to update his followers on his condition. “I got back from the road Saturday night feeling very weary. I had a headache. I felt just run down,” Rogan explained. He tested positive the following day. “So we threw the kitchen sink at it, all kinds of meds,” Rogan said. He revealed that he took a Z-Pac, prednisolone, and ivermectin. Ivermectin, an antiparasitic used to treat horses, has been touted by anti-vaxxers as a treatment for COVID-19, but The New York Times reported that it has “repeatedly failed in clinical trials to help people infected with the coronavirus.” Rogan continued, saying “Here we are on Wednesday, and I feel great. I really only had one bad day. Today I feel good, I actually feel pretty fucking good.” While Rogan did not note whether or not he had been vaccinated, he said “A wonderful, heartfelt thank you to modern medicine for pulling me out of this so quickly and easily.”

Rogan came under fire earlier this year after he told his 11 million podcast listeners that they didn’t need to take the COVID-19 vaccine. “If you’re like 21 years old, and you say to me, ‘Should I get vaccinated?’ I’ll go no,” Rogan told listeners of The Joe Rogan Experience. “If you’re a healthy person, and you’re exercising all the time, and you’re young, and you’re eating well, I don’t think you need to worry about this.” Over the course of the pandemic, 4.53 million people have died from the coronavirus worldwide, including 641K in the United States alone, many of whom were young and healthy when they contracted the virus. Additionally, asymptomatic people can still give the virus to others, putting the vulnerable members of society at risk.

Rogan later clarified his remarks. “I said, ‘I believe [the vaccines are] safe,’ and I encouraged many people to take them… My parents were vaccinated. I just said, ‘I don’t think that if you’re a young, healthy person, that you need it.’”