Joe Rogan has apologised for using the N-word after clips resurfaced on social media.
The 54-year-old podcaster faced further backlash after musician India Arie shared an edited compilation on Instagram of him using the word on multiple occasions.
The Grammy-winning singer told followers that she was removing her music from Spotify – which hosts The Joe Rogan Experience podcast - due to Rogan’s “language around race”.
Rogan has apologised for making the comments, calling it “the most regretful and shameful thing I’ve ever had to talk about publicly.”
In a video posted on Instagram on Saturday, Rogan said: “There’s a compilation made of clips, taken out of context, of me of 12 years of conversations on my podcast. It’s all smooshed together and it looks f***ing horrible, even to me.”
“I know for most people there’s no context where a white person is allowed to say that word – and I agree with that now,” he added.
“I haven’t said it for years. But for a long time, when I would bring that word up, instead of saying the N-word, I’d just say the word. I thought as long as it was in context people would understand what I was doing.”
He said the slur is “a very unusual word, but it’s not my word to use”.
“I’m well aware of that now,” he added. “I never used it to be racist, because I’m not racist, but whenever you’re in situation where you have to say ‘I’m not racist’, you’ve f***ed up. And I’ve clearly f***ed up.”
“There’s nothing I can do to take that back – I wish I could. I do hope, if anything, that this can be a teachable moment.”
The podcaster offered his “sincerest apologies” for the resurfaced videos, captioning the post: “There’s been a lot of s*** 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.”
It comes after musicians Joni Mitchell and Neil Young removed their music from Spotify in protest against alleged Covid misinformation on Rogan’s podcast.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle – who have a deal with Spotify reportedly worth £18m - also waded into the row, urging the platform to do more to combat “disinformation”.
Amid the boycott, Spotify said it would add Covid-19 content advisory labels.
