Joe Rogan, the host of The Joe Rogan Experience, the largest podcast in the world with an average of 11 million listeners per episode, has received backlash after he said the idea that Jewish people aren’t into money is “ridiculous”.
The comment was made in an episode that aired Saturday, during a discussion about Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar being removed from the House Foreign Affairs Committee and a 2019 Tweet of hers in which she implied American support for Israel has been “All about the Benjamins baby”, alluding to the $100 bill.
Mr Rogan said: “[Omar] apologising for talking about 'It’s all about the Benjamins', which is just about money - she’s talking about money.
“That’s not an antisemitic statement, I don’t think that is. Benjamins are money. The idea that Jewish people are not into money is ridiculous. That’s like saying Italians aren’t into pizza, it’s f***ing stupid. It’s f***ing stupid.”
Rep. Omar’s removal from the House Foreign Affairs Committee by Republicans last week had reportedly been due to her alleged history of making antisemitic comments and employing antisemitic tropes.
In response to the comments, David Baddiel, author of Jews Don’t Count, Tweeted: “I actually want to stop banging the Jews Don’t Count drum at some point but hard to do when a racist myth about Jews is just… said, breezily, on one of the biggest podcasts in the world and no-one gives a f**k.”
Mr Rogan’s guests on the episode were Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti, political commentators and hosts of the podcast “Breaking Points”.
Ms Ball, a former Democratic Party nominee for Congress in Virginia, is a political commentator and television host at MSNBC. She has also appeared on television networks such as CNN, CNBC and Fox News.
Mr Enjeti is an author and podcast host who has been co-hosting the “Breaking Points” podcast with Ms Ball since its creation in mid-May 2021.
The martial arts commentator and former host of Fear Factor is not new to controversy. During the Covid pandemic, Mr Rogan found himself in hot water after he recommended the use of non-FDA approved treatments to combat Covid, including the use of ivermectin, which is normally used to treat parasitic infestations.
As a result of Mr Rogan allegedly spreading health misinformation during the pandemic from his Spotify platform, some notable musical artists removed their music from the platform, including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell.
In May 2020, Spotify announced that they had reached a licensing agreement with Mr Rogan to host the show exclusively on their platform, in a deal reportedly worth more than $200 million.
Mr Rogan, 54, has yet to address the backlash over Saturday’s comments.
