Joe Rogan Backs Down From Controversial Comments After White House Officially Responds

Joe Rogan responded to the controversy stemming from his comments about vaccinations on a recent episode of JRE. This week, Rogan gave his non-professional opinion that “healthy 21-year-olds” probably don’t need to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

“But if you’re like 21 years old, and you say to me, should I get vaccinated? I go no. Are you healthy? Are you a healthy person? Like, look, don’t do anything stupid, but you should take care of yourself,” the Spotify podcaster said during the April 23rd episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. “You should—if you’re a healthy person, and you’re exercising all the time, and you’re young, and you’re eating well, like, I don’t think you need to worry about this.”

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At the same time, Rogan also urged those most at risk for coronavirus to get vaccinated, which shows that he is not anti-vaxx person.

“I think you should get vaccinated if you’re vulnerable,” Rogan said during an interview with comedian and libertarian political commentator Dave Smith, and he added, “For the most part I think it’s safe to get vaccinated.”

Not to mention that Rogan was scheduled to receive the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine until the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a pause on that particular inoculation.

Smith agreed with Rogan’s take on the controversial topic, and he pointed out that many people are “virtual signaling” and putting on a “theatrical display” with their coronavirus vaccination.

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Numerous media outlets slammed Rogan for his comments about young healthy people skipping the coronavirus vaccine.

The remarks even caught the attention of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who called Rogan’s comments “incorrect.”

“You’re talking about yourself in a vacuum,” Fauci said. “If you want to only worry about yourself and not society, then that’s OK. But you’re saying to yourself, ‘Even if I get infected, I could do damage to somebody else even if I have no symptoms at all,’ and that’s the reason why you’ve got to be careful and get vaccinated.”

White House communications director Kate Bedingfield joked about the situation, “Did Joe Rogan become a medical doctor while we weren’t looking?”

In a new episode of JRE, Rogan clarified his COVID-19 vaccination comments.

“I’m not a doctor, I’m a f***ing moron,” Rogan admitted. “I’m not a respected source of information, even for me … But I at least try to be honest about what I’m saying.”

“I’m not an anti-vaxxer,” Rogan told fellow comedian Andrew Santino. “I said I believe they’re safe and I encourage many people to take them. My parents were vaccinated. I just said that if you’re a young, healthy person that you don’t need it.”

Rogan addressed the White House comments, “There’s some legitimate science behind this…Their argument was, you need it for other people. But that’s a different argument. That’s a different conversation.”

The UFC color commentator also highlighted that his podcast is three hours of free-flowing thoughts and ideas, which oftentimes include the partaking of alcohol or marijuana with his guests. “These are not planned statements when I say something stupid,” he said. “If you say you disagree with me, I probably disagree with me too. I disagree with myself all the time.”

Rogan also noted that websites fabricate clickbait headlines to purposely sensationalize his comments.

Dave Smith also addressed the controversy on his political podcast Part of the Problem.

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