Joe Rogan apologizes for repeated past use of racial slurs

Podcaster Joe Rogan apologized on Saturday for his repeated past use of racial slurs.

“There’s been a lot of shit from the old episodes of the podcast that I wish I hadn’t said, or had said differently. This is my take on the worst of it,” Rogan said in the caption of an almost five-minute video posted on Instagram.

Recently, Rogan has faced controversy as multiple musical artists have called on Spotify to stop streaming their songs over COVID-19 misinformation on his popular podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” to which the streaming service purchased exclusive rights.

One of the artists, India Arie, posted a compilation video showing Rogan using the n-word on his podcast. Video also showed the podcaster making a joke about the movie “Planet of the Apes” after he was dropped off in a Black neighborhood. 

“There’s nothing I can do to take that back. I wish I could. Obviously, that’s not possible,” Rogan stated. “I certainly wasn’t trying to be racist, and I certainly would never want to offend someone for entertainment with something as stupid as racism.”

Rogan said he “hasn’t used that word in years.” He said he believed it was okay to use it in the past because he only used the racial slur when discussing specific issues in which he thought the context was appropriate. 

However, Rogan said he had learned throughout the years it was “not my word to use.”

Addressing the clip showing Rogan telling a story about how he said an area looked like the Planet of the Apes movie after he was dropped off in a Black neighborhood years ago, the podcaster said, “I did not nor would I ever say that Black people are apes but it sure f—ing sounded like that.”

“I can’t go back in time and change what I’ve said. I wish I could,” Rogan said, adding he hopes others learn “how offensive that word can be coming out of a white person’s mouth in context or out of context.” 

“My sincere and humble apologies,” Rogan concluded. 

Amid the controversy, Spotify pulled more than 70 episodes of Rogan’s podcast from the platform. Neither Spotify nor Rogan addressed the action.