In a recent episode of his Spotify podcast, Joe Rogan took aim at talk show host Stephen Colbert for stoking “mass psychosis” around the coronavirus vaccine. Rogan’s issue with Colbert stemmed from the latter’s “Late Show” sketch promoting vaccinations via song.
During an interview with MMA fighter Jake Shields, Rogan — who has routinely endorsed harmful anti-vaccine views — added that Colbert’s June 2021 “The Vax-Scene” song featuring dancing syringes was “strange.”
“He’s weird, right!” Rogan added, after Shields called Colbert “cringe.”
“I wanna be in the meeting where they pitch that. Like here’s the thing ‘We’re gonna go da — da — da — dada — da vaccines!’ Like where’s the joke? Where’s the joke? Are people going to watch this?” Rogan continued, mimicking trumpet sounds.
He also insinuated that Colbert “enjoys being the star of a show” and part of the “in-crowd,” adding that the comedian is likely doing it all for his “lucrative” salary.
“Like this is going to go down in history, like this time — this is like a mass psychosis,” Rogan said.
The podcaster also lamented Colbert’s close relationship with high-ranking Democratic officials, poking fun at a video showing the former Comedy Central star high-fiving and dancing with US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The conversation turned toward Colbert when Rogan said he wouldn’t be able to have a career outside of being a comedian had he been born earlier. That’s when Shields brought up being a talk show host, which Rogan said he would “never” get.
Rogan has long disgruntled doctors and health care professionals over his dangerous promotion of anti-vax stance. Earlier this year, Spotify faced intense backlash for giving the podcaster a platform to spread his lies, which resulted in veteran musicians like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell boycotting the audio streamer.