Jon Stewart defended comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan from critics — and praised his willingness to correct mistakes — amid the controversy over his presence on Spotify.
“Don’t leave, don’t abandon, don’t censor, engage,” Stewart said to Rogan’s critics on the latest episode of The Problem With Jon Stewart podcast. “I’m not saying it’s it’s always going to work out fruitfully, but I am always of the mindset that engagement, and especially with someone like a Joe Rogan who is not, in my mind, an ideologue in any way.”
Stewart pointed to a recent moment on Rogan’s show when the host claimed that myocarditis — an inflammation of the heart muscle — is a common side effect of the Covid-19 vaccines. His guest Josh Szeps, pointed out that myocarditis is actually more common for those who have contracted the virus itself than post-vaccine. Rogan challenged the claim of his guest, but had his producer Jamie Vernon look up the information to confirm, which proved that Szeps was correct.
On his own show, Stewart applauded Rogan for being open to facts that disproved his beliefs, and said someone like Tucker Carlson would never do the same.
“If you are an ideologue or if you are a dishonest person, that is the moment — like Tucker Carlson in that situation never would have looked it up. And would have given that look he gives
Stewart then said the rhetoric surrounding Rogan is “overblown.” “This overreaction to Rogan, I think is mistake,” Stewart said. “I really do.”
He added that Eric Clapton is on music platforms, “and he’s a f*cking psycho.”
“By the way, do we only do these conversations so that I will get in trouble?” Stewart asked his co-hosts.
Listen above via The Problem With Jon Stewart.