Joe Rogan’s Victim Grift
The ‘anti-woke’ podcaster is paid well to perpetuate the status quo
Earlier this week, Joe Rogan was widely mocked for claiming on his podcast that the logical outcome of “woke” discourse is that “straight white men” will no longer be allowed to talk or go outside:
You can never be woke enough that’s the problem. It keeps going. It keeps going further and further and further down the line. If you get to the point where you capitulate where you agree to all these demands, it will eventually get to “straight white men are not allowed to talk.” Because it’s your privilege to express yourself when other people of color have been silenced throughout history. It will be “you’re not allowed to go outside.” Because so many people were imprisoned for so many years.
Many people pointed out the sheer absurdity of a guy who gets paid $10 million a month to produce one of the world’s most popular podcasts complaining about being silenced. Last month, Rogan told his millions of listeners that young, healthy people probably don’t need to get the Covid vaccine, sparking significant outrage. Clearly, not being able to freely say whatever pops into his head is not a problem that Rogan actually suffers from. And yet, to categorize him as merely delusional misses the point of publicly making such claims.
Rogan is a performer. He might be worth many millions of dollars in real life, but his persona is that of a rough-around-the-edges working-class type who might be fun to take bong rips with if your idea of fun is getting stoned with a guy who might casually drop the n-word. To his credit, Rogan does a very good job of presenting himself as someone his audience can identify with. According to a 2020 survey, 71% of his audience was male, and their average age was 24. The people who listen to Rogan aren’t especially rich—only 19% made more than $100,000 a year, according to the same survey—but they aren’t especially likely to be experiencing economic precarity, either—more than half of his audience reported making over $50,000 a year. As recently as a few years ago, Rogan’s target demographic would have likely seen themselves as upwardly mobile, with an abundance of economic and social prospects. That they probably no longer feel that way is something we must consider if we are to…
