In a memo distributed to Spotify employees over the weekend, the Swedish company’s chief executive, Daniel Ek, ruled out pulling The Joe Rogan Experience podcast from the streaming platform after about 70 old episodes of the show were deleted on Saturday. (5), due to the alleged use of racist terms by presenter Joe Rogan.
In the statement, to which the American press had access, Ek stated that he does not believe “that silencing Joe is the answer”. “We should have clear boundaries on content and take action when they are crossed, but canceling voices is a risky path,” he added.
According to the memo, Rogan made the decision to remove the episodes after meetings with Spotify executives and after doing “his own reflections.”
In a five-minute video on Instagram, the American podcaster apologized for the lines, saying it was the “most regrettable and shameful thing” he had to publicly explain. He argued that some of his lines had been taken out of context, but that the content was “horrible, even to me”. “Never used [termos racistas] to be racist, because I am not racist,” he declared.
Spotify signed a $100 million deal in 2020 with the creator to have exclusivity on The Joe Rogan Experience.
The episode comes on the heels of Canadian singer Neil Young’s ultimatum, who, arguing that Rogan’s show spreads misinformation about Covid-19, demanded that the platform choose between keeping his songs or the podcast. Ultimately, the Swedish company sided with Rogan and excluded Young’s repertoire.
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