Joe Rogan has apologised after footage emerged of him repeatedly using the n-word on his podcast show.
The comedian, 54, said that he isn’t racist and offered “sincere and humble apologies” for using the word but stressed the clip was “taken out of context”.
Rogan, who has a lucrative deal with Spotify, has come under fire for sharing COVID misinformation on The Joe Rogan Experience.
Musicians including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have withdrawn their music from the streaming service, over its decision to continue hosting the show, which was reportedly bought for more than $100m (£77m) in 2020.
R&B and soul artist India Arie has also pulled her music from Spotify, saying she objects to Rogan’s “language around race”.
She shared a compilation of clips on Instagram of Rogan using the n-word more than 20 times.
‘I’m not racist
Rogan addressed the montage on his own Instagram account saying: “I’m making this video to talk about the most regretful and shameful thing that I’ve ever had to talk about publicly.
“There’s a video that’s out, that’s a compilation of me saying the n-word. It’s a video that’s made of clips taken out of context of me of 12 years of conversations on my podcast, and it’s all smushed together, and it looks f****** horrible, even to me.
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“Now I know that to most people there’s no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word, never mind publicly on a podcast, and I agree with that.
“Now, I haven’t said in years, but for a long time, when I would bring that word up, like if it would come up in conversation, instead of saying ‘the n-word’, I would just say the word.
“I thought as long as it was in context, people would understand what I was doing.”
Rogan added that he previously used the word when he was quoting people and said in when discussing how it is an “unusual word” that “only one group of people is allowed to use, they can use in so many different ways”.
“I never used it to be racist because I’m not racist. But whenever you are in a situation where you have to say I’m not racist, you’ve f***** up and I f***** up.”
‘An idiotic thing to say’
Arie also shared a clip of Rogan telling a story where he appeared to compare being around black people to the Planet of the Apes film.
Rogan addressed the clip, saying that he had deleted the podcast and admitted it was “an idiotic thing to say”, adding that he “certainly wasn’t trying to be racist”.
“I was telling a story in the podcast about how me and my friend Tommy and his girlfriend, we got really high and we’re in Philadelphia, and we went to go see Planet Of The Apes,” he said.
“We didn’t know where we were going, we just got dropped off by a cab, and we got dropped off in this all-black neighbourhood.
“And I was trying to make the story entertaining and I said, ‘We got out, and it was like we were in Africa like we were in Planet Of The Apes’.
“I did not know, nor would I ever say that black people are apes, but it sure f****** sounded like that.
“And I immediately afterwards, I said ‘That’s a racist thing to say’.
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“Planet Of The Apes wasn’t even in Africa. I was just saying there was a lot of black people there.
“I can’t go back in time and change what I’ve said, I wish I could, obviously that’s not possible, but I do hope that this can be a teachable moment for anybody that doesn’t realise how offensive that word can be coming out of a white person’s mouth, in context or out of context.
“My sincere and humble apologies. I wish there was more that I could say.