(Headline USA) Podcast host Joe Rogan turned down a $100 million offer from Rumble, a conservative social media platform, this week, saying he plans to stick with Spotify because the company has “hung with” him throughout the latest attempt to cancel his show.
During a Q&A session with fans in Texas following a live recording of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, a reporter asked Rogan if he had considered Rumble’s offer to leave Spotify and sign with them for $100 million over four years.
“No, Spotify has hung in with me, inexplicably, let’s see what happens,” Rogan replied.
Rumble had made the offer to Rogan after leftists began demanding that Spotify deplatform him, accusing him of spreading COVID-19 “misinformation” and using racist language in past episodes. The controversy led to dozens of podcast episodes being deleted from Spotify.
Hey @joerogan, we are ready to fight alongside you. See the note from our CEO @chrispavlovski… pic.twitter.com/G7ahfNNjtP
— Rumble (@rumblevideo) February 7, 2022
“We stand with you, your guests, and your legion of fans in desire for real conversation,” Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski wrote previously. “So we’d like to offer you 100 million reasons to make the world a better place.”
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek apologized to leftists upset with Rogan’s podcast but said that while he “strongly condemns” Rogan’s rhetoric, he does not believe “silencing Joe is the answer.”
“While some might want us to pursue a different path, I believe that more speech on more issues can be highly effective in improving the status quo and enhancing the conversation altogether,” Ek said.
