The podfather has spoken. Joe Rogan, the comedian turned massively influential podcaster who endorsed Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump in the last two elections, offered some thoughts on the Jimmy Kimmel controversy on Tuesday. He turned on conservatives, with whom he has a large following, calling them “crazy” to celebrate Kimmel’s suspension over comments related to Charlie Kirk. But he also called for the country to come together in a “community” and advocated for some traditionally left-wing solutions, namely, a “strong social safety net.” While going back and forth over whether the U.S. is actually in the midst of a “culture war,” Rogan nevertheless advocated for policies to counter what he sees as unprecedented societal disruption.
On a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan came to the defense of ABC late-night host Kimmel, who was suspended by parent company Disney following on-air comments about Charlie Kirk’s shooter. In his Sept. 15 monologue, Kimmel criticized Trump supporters’ response to Kirk’s death, saying “The MAGA gang is desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and they are doing everything they can to score political points from it.” Kimmel returned to the airwaves on Tuesday night on roughly 75% of ABC stations, with major affiliates Nexstar and Sinclair refusing to broadcast the program.
Rogan was unequivocal in his defense of Kimmel’s right to speak freely, while acknowledging that Kimmel’s remarks characterizing the shooter as a MAGA supporter were “factually inaccurate.” Rogan then cast doubt on the official “narrative” of the Kirk shooting. (For years, Rogan has received criticism for the conspiratorial tone of his super-popular podcast.)
“I definitely don’t think that the government should be involved ever in dictating what a comedian can or cannot say in a monologue,” Rogan said. He specifically cautioned conservatives who celebrated Kimmel’s suspension, warning that such power would inevitably be used against them in the future. Rogan further defended the joke in question as “very funny” and a “great joke.” He argued in a libertarian vein that if audiences are offended by a host’s political bias, the proper response is to stop watching and “let the market decide” the show’s fate.
Community values
This defense of open discourse was part of Rogan’s broader argument against the intense political polarization he believes is being dangerously amplified by the same internet economy that made him a podcast superstar. He argued, without evidence, that foreign “bot farms” are designed to “get people to hate each other.” For what it’s worth, Fortune reported in July that “bad bots” really are pervasive on the internet, with cybersecurity firm Thales, through its subsidiary Imperva, finding nearly 50% of all internet traffic originated from nonhuman sources.
This constant manipulation, Rogan explained, gets people into a “fever pitch of culture war” where they lose their morals, citing disturbing clips of people cheering the news of Charlie Kirk’s assassination as a prime example. “People wouldn’t have reacted like that 20 years ago,” Rogan said. Still, he insisted Kimmel’s jokes and rhetoric should not be lumped in with what he sees as a degradation of morality.
“Everybody, because they’re online all the time, genuinely believes that there’s this crazy culture war that we have to stand up and fight against,” he said, calling these kinds of feuds a “stupid” distraction from monumental changes happening in the world, such as the rise of artificial intelligence. As an antidote, Rogan passionately urged for a return to a fundamental principle: “We have to be a community … This is the United States of America, we’re supposed to be a country, like, we can have differences of opinions.” He added political narratives should not be reduced to “stupid” binary arguments of right versus left.
A crucial component of Rogan’s vision for this community is the implementation of a stronger social safety net, something he sees as urgent owing to the rise of AI and automation. He predicted AI will eliminate a vast number of jobs—from transportation and banking to coding and legal professions—and that without preparation, the result will be “chaos.” He returned to an idea he has repeatedly advocated, universal basic income, stating: “You’re going to have to have some way to feed people.
“When I was a kid my family was on welfare, we were poor,” Rogan said, adding he is thankful for the governmental support that they received. He expanded on this principle to advocate for fundamental security for all citizens, arguing that basic needs and learning should be guaranteed. “You have to have food, you have to have housing, you should have education, all of it should be free, college-level education,” he added.
The Joe Rogan Experience did not respond to a request for comment.
For this story, Fortune used generative AI to help with an initial draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing.
