Joe Rogan apologized for his repeated use of the N-word on his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience after singer India Arie called him out with a video montage of him using the word over two dozen times. In a five-minute clip posted to his Instagram on Saturday (February 5), the former actor addressed the controversy, saying he “clearly f***ed up” for using the N-word, and claimed he never said it “to be racist.”
“It’s a video that’s made of clips taken out of context of me of 12 years of conversations on my podcast. It’s all smushed together and it looks f***ing horrible, even to me,” Rogan began. “I know that to most people, there is no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word, never mind publicly on a podcast. And I agree with that now. I haven’t said it in years. But for a long time… instead of saying the N-word, I would just say the word. I thought as long as it was in context, people would understand what I was doing.”
Rogan claimed he would only utter the N-word when citing how other people would use the word. In one example, Rogan detailed how he used the word when describing the late comedian Redd Foxx mentioning it on his 1970s sitcom Sanford & Son. Another occasion came when Rogan said it in reference to an album by Richard Pryor.
“It’s not my word to use. I never used it to be racist, because I’m not racist,” Rogan continued during his Instagram clip. “But whenever you’re in a situation where you have to say ‘I’m not racist,’ you’ve f***ed up, and I clearly have f***ed up.” The podcaster then admitted he can’t “take back” his past use of the N-word — but he hopes it can be a
Rogan said though he can’t take his past use of the racist word back — but he hopes it can be a “teachable moment.” “My sincere and humble apologies, I wish there was more that I could say. All of this is just me talking from the bottom of my heart. Makes me sick watching that video,” Rogan added. “Hopefully some you will accept this and understand where I’m coming from.”
Arie had posted the montage to her own Instagram on Friday, while explaining why she chose to remove her music from Spotify, where Jor Rogan’s podcast is featured. Although several musicians have pulled their music from Spotify over Rogan’s COVID vaccine misinformation, Arie did it in protest of his use of the N-word. “He shouldn’t even be uttering the word,” Arie said in a video alongside the montage. “Don’t even say it, under any context. Don’t say it. That’s where I stand. I have always stood there.”