Joe Rogan is threatening to walk away from his $200 million contract with Spotify Technology AG (NYSE:SPOT) if he is required to tow the corporate line in a manner not to his liking.
What Happened: Rogan aired his displeasure with his podcasting network during a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” during an interview with MMA fighter Josh Barnett.
“I will quit,” Rogan declared, as reported by The New York Post. “If it gets to a point that I can’t do it anymore, where I have to do it in some sort of weird way where I walk on eggshells and mind my p’s and q’s, f**k that!”
Rogan added that he has been under increased pressure by critics eager to find fault with “every little thing” that he says on the air.
“There’s more people poring over it but it’s the same thing. I do it the same way,” Rogan added.
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Why It's Important: Since the beginning of the year, Rogan’s podcast has been the subject of high-profile complaints regarding medical misinformation and racially insensitive commentary on past episodes.
Several iconic music performers including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell removed their music from Spotify rather than share the platform with Rogan. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek issued a statement that Rogan’s controversial contents “do not represent the values of this company” — yet he insisted “canceling voices is a slippery slope” and added had no plans for “silencing” Rogan.
It's uncertain what sparked Rogan’s latest comments — he has been absent from the headlines in recent weeks as other controversies and issues dominated the headlines. Nonetheless, he insisted he was not changing his podcast to satisfy his critics.
“If I become something different because it grew bigger, I will quit,” he said.
Photo: Courtesy of Joe Rogan's Instagram page
