In a predictable turn of events, Dwayne Johnson has walked back his support of Joe Rogan after a video of the podcaster saying the N-word went viral last week. Johnson had initially spoken out in support of Rogan following the ongoing Spotify controversy, commenting on Rogan’s response video, “Great stuff here, brother. Perfectly articulated. Look forward to coming on [the podcast] one day and breaking out the tequila with you.” After author Don Winslow tagged Johnson in a tweet linking to the compilation video, Johnson replied, “Thank you so much for this. I hear you as well as everyone here 100%.” He continued, “I was not aware of his N word use prior to my comments, but now I’ve become educated to his complete narrative. Learning moment for me.” Rogan has since apologized for his usage of the N-word, calling the video “fucking horrible, even to me,” but adding that the clips were “taken out of context.” Spotify has deleted over 100 episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience in the past few days, and various public figures are continuing to boycott the streaming service over its platforming of Rogan and COVID-19 misinformation.
