MSNBC Guest on Joe Rogan: ‘He’s in Over His Head’ and ‘Doesn’t Realize It’

When it comes to the spread of Covid-19 misinformation by prominent media personalities, there is a tendency among detractors to ascribe cynical motives to people “who know better” but want good ratings.

But when it comes to Joe Rogan, Majority Report host Sam Seder offered a less malign explanation: the host of The Joe Rogan Experience genuinely doesn’t understand the responsibility he has to his massive audience.

Rogan, whose podcast on Spotify will now come with a disclaimer, dropped a 10-minute Instagram video on Monday addressing the recent controversy surrounding his wildly popular show. He has hosted anti-vaxx guests and promoted unproven treatments for Covid-19. The disclaimer comes after Neil Young had his music taken off Spotify in response to Rogan’s presence on the platform, which is paying Rogan $100 million for the exclusive rights to his show.

Appearing on Monday’s edition of All In with Chris Hayes, Seder disclosed at the outset that he tried unsuccessfully “years and years ago” to get on Rogan’s show.

“He’s got a very, very important show,” Seder said. “He’s got a huge audience, and I think the thing that he doesn’t fundamentally understand is that his intent is irrelevant. It really is. And I actually think that his intent isn’t as bad as a lot of others out there. But his intent is irrelevant. He is spreading misinformation.”

Seder later added that there’s a sense among comedians that, because they aren’t journalists, they shouldn’t be held to the same standards.

“This can be deployed in more or less malevolent ways,” he said. “This is what Limbaugh used to say. ‘I’m just an entertainer, you can’t take me seriously.’

“And the bottom line is if you’re talking to 11 million people every time you do a podcast, you have a responsibility. And if you’re the company that’s paying for it, it’s on you. And he gets a Spotify paycheck, and so it’s on them. It’s part of their brand now, that they are the ones that are publishing this stuff, they are profiting off it, and it is hurting people. And it’s their responsibility and their brand.”

Seder concluded, “He’s in over his head on some level. That’s the bottom line. He doesn’t realize it. He’s making too much money for them, for them to tell him.”

Watch above via MSNBC.