Joe Rogan has found himself facing new controversy after voicing antisemitic tropes on his massively popular podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
In a recent episode featuring guests Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti, hosts of the “Breaking Points” podcast, Rogan stated that “the idea that Jewish people aren’t into money is ridiculous. That’s like saying Italians aren’t into pizza. That’s fucking stupid.”
Rogan’s comments came during a discussion regarding Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who was recently removed from the Foreign Affairs Committee by Republicans after she faced accusations of antisemitism. Omar found herself under fire after a 2019 tweet condemning the American Israel Public Affairs Committee resurfaced. In the post, Omar stated that American support for Israel was “all about the Benjamins.”
The Muslim congresswoman has since apologized for the post, stating that she was “grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of antisemitic tropes.” Notably, Omar has been a regular critic of the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians.
“She’s apologizing for talking about ‘It’s all about the Benjamins,’ which is just about money—she’s talking about money,” Rogan continued on his podcast. “That’s not an antisemitic statement, I don’t think that is. Benjamins are money.”
“Disturbing that at a time of rising anti-Jewish violence, when growing numbers of Americans believe in antisemitic conspiracy theories, [Joe Rogan] would use his immense platform to spew antisemitic tropes about Jews and money,” wrote Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt in a tweet published Thursday.
Disturbing that at a time of rising anti-Jewish violence, when growing numbers of Americans believe in antisemitic conspiracy theories, @joerogan would use his immense platform to spew antisemitic tropes about Jews and money. https://t.co/O6o1i2nS9x
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) February 7, 2023
Former congressman Ted Deutch, who now serves as the CEO of the American Jewish Committee, also condemned Rogan’s comments, stating that they employed “the same tropes that have been used to persecute Jews for centuries.”
“It’s dangerous to be so flippant in trafficking in antisemitic stereotypes,” Deutch continued.
Representatives for Rogan and Spotify were not immediately available for comment.
Rogan, whose show ranked as the most popular podcast of 2022 on Spotify, is no stranger to backlash. Seventy episodes of “The Joe Rogan Experience” were pulled from Spotify last year for the host’s repeated use of the N-word, a controversy that led to an apology from the podcast host. Rogan has also been the subject of criticism for promoting COVID-19 misinformation on his program — a practice that led to artists like Neil Young removing their music from the streaming service.
