Joe Rogan during his recent interview with guest Jim Breuer, March 19th, 2021 (photo: Digital Music News)
Despite heavy pressure from activist Spotify employees, Joe Rogan reiterated his criticisms of the transgender community while questioning the adulation given to those who transition.
Joe Rogan is now drawing more accusations of transphobia following comments during his most recent podcast episode. In an interview with longtime friend and comedian Jim Breuer, publishing on Friday exclusively on Spotify, Rogan reiterated earlier complaints about the transgender community while questioning the motivations of people seeking to transition.
“It’s not fake,” Rogan stated, while noting that a certain subset of the population has always wanted to transition to a different sex. “There are people who really have these thoughts. The problem is, it becomes a protected subject, and then you get praised for transferring your gender — for changing your gender. And then it gets exciting for people to talk about, and then you get chastised for even discussing it in any weird way.”
“And then people who were marginalized for being — like, generally dumb people, if they transfer over and become another gender, then they get praised. There are a lot of people who are idiots, but then they become trans, and now all of a sudden we think they’re amazing.”
Jim Breuer immediately agreed with the comment, while noting that it’s impossible to have a back-and-forth discussion on the topic with anyone pro-trans. “They don’t even know how to talk,” Breuer noted.
“It’s because they’re indoctrinated into an ideology that demands that you comply,” Rogan replied.
“Correct, let’s just have a conversation. Like, there’s a transvestite that comes into our coffee shop, he’s —”
“I don’t think you’re allowed to say a ‘transvestite’ anymore,” Rogan quickly interrupted.
“I just did,” Breuer quipped back. “For my generation, I’m from the 80s, we called it a ‘transvestite,’ you can’t de-program me.”
“Can you say ‘drag queen’?” Rogan chuckled.
“Drag queen. Can you say it? I just said it.”
In the hours following the publication of the podcast episode, DMN received multiple emails — though it’s unclear if any came from inside Spotify itself.
The discussion follows an extremely contentious battle between Rogan and a number of Spotify staffers, particularly over an interview Rogan conducted with Abigail Shrier prior to his arrival on the streaming music platform.
Shrier, author of the book Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters, was interviewed by Rogan in July of 2020. Shrier sharply questioned whether extremely young women should be undergoing gender-transition operations, treatments, and therapies, while also questioning whether many of these women are genuinely trans or simply seeking acceptance and validation. That drew accusations of transphobia from a contingent of LGTBQ+ Spotify employees, who reportedly demanded changes in more than ten separate meetings with Spotify upper management.
Eventually, that group demanded the removal of the Shrier episode and other earlier shows, while also demanding editorial oversight and the ability to preface Joe Rogan podcast episodes with clarifications, trigger warnings, or other statements. None of those demands were granted, though the activist group never went on strike in response.
Rogan himself eventually responded to the demands, but refused to modify his opinions or delete earlier episodes.
“What Abigail is talking about in her book, Irreversible Damage, is large clusters of kids who are mostly kids that are socially awkward, many of them are autistic, many of them have never had any praise at all in their life, and they transition and they get all this praise from people. Because it is, right now it’s in vogue,” Rogan stated.
“I’m talking off the top of my head. And a lot of times I’m saying shit that I don’t even mean. I’m saying it because this is a fucking podcast. And if you have a problem with people saying terrible shit and you work for Spotify, maybe you should listen to some of the lyrics. Okay, because some of the lyrics and some of the fucking music that you guys play over and over and over again makes my shit pale in comparison.”
“But I get it, you’re a 23-year-old woke kid and you’re working for this company and you think you’re gonna put your foot down, I get it.”
Gender dysphoria is a mental disorder. It should be medically treated, not glorified.
correct
Bingo. These people are freaks but of course I would never actually say that any of them. I’m thinking it though, most of us are.
BINGO – well said
Coming from someone who obviously isn’t a doctor of any kind. You’re the idiot.
read about the british approach to this scenario. They’ve rightly banned hormone treatment to those <18 because SCIENCE says it's harmful. The vast majority of children who claim to have gender dysmorphia end up being gay / lesbian. Unfortunately the VERY powerful trans lobby has blocked science from being spoken (check out what's happened at Brown University — if you can find it, the trans lobby blocked the science being done there!)
Maybe only a small fringe of Doctors actually support it and it happens that the powers that be pushed their leaders along into accepting it at the highest levels in a hope it would trickle down like most things in medicine?
I wish more normal-thinking people would also speak up; and, not let a small group of loud people with mental disorders cancel everything they don’t don’t agree with.
I find it strange that something I never heard of as a kid and never encountered until a sailor on liberty, should be an issue. Before trans became a cause celeb the DSM estimated the incidence to be .005% (or 5 in 10,000) for males and .003% for females, or pretty damn insignificant. Stop feeding the children this crap, if it’s real they can deal with it when they are adults.
very true sir
More hurt feelings what ever happened to over coming things. And to be proud of facing adversity. If you are something someone don’t like ignore them
Andy Warhol once wrote: “I guess it’s interesting to try to be another sex, but it can be exciting to just be your own sex.”
Paul would make a great Comedy Central writer!
What was the contentious part? That a trans person can be an idiot?
Who knows man, pretty much every conversation with slight criticism of trans people will be called contentious. There’s certain topics that *some* people are trying to push this ‘no comment zone’. Who knows for what reason. But it’s a simple fact that when situations are able to be fully open and analyzed by everyone, things get worked out…
Good question. I sympathize with people (adults) who deeply believe they were born into the wrong sex. Really. And it must take a lot out of them to struggle with that, however they try to resolve the situation. But that doesn’t transform them into angels without flaw, every single one. And I suspect that if you talked to a trans person individually, he or she would certainly agree.
The problem is all the neoliberal crusaders who use the trans issue — and others on the woke spectrum — as a way to beat down anyone who isn’t up-to-the-minute with woke phraseology and supposed sensitivity. The funny thing is, these crusades are often called into question by the very minorities they’re supposed to serve. One example is the invention of the word Latinx, which the vast majority of Latinos have have either never heard or reject outright.
No one cares
Transqueerios are mentally disturbed. No reason to hate them, but let’s call a weirdo a weirdo.
That’s your opinion, which you have a right to; however, the way you state it is offensive and ruse. Your parents are to blame for your poor upbringing, most likely. What an asshole, you are.
Thank the lord you’re here to white knight the internet.
That’s the MAJORITY of opinion!! Many who believe in God also KNOW this is an abomination of what is right. Damnation will follow. Boys “pretending” to be girls is just sick!! And stay outta females sports!! Ya got a PENIS, run with the guys ya sick fucks. You are the ASSHOLE!!
FROM WHO? 300 People on Twitter and idiot publications like these? How about we stop pushing choices of the few while pretending everyone agrees. Trans people are mentally sick individuals on a not normal spectrum.
Trans conversations aren’t actually controversial, and there certainly was not contention at spotify. Rogan is the whole key to the company’s growth, they know they’re getting honesty and comedy and their small minority of woke employees complaining shouldn’t derail a real company.
It’s no coincidence that the LGB community is working hard to distance themselves from the rest of the alphabet. The T’s and lmnopqrst+-+% have co-opted the movement. Most of the LGB community feels they diminish the LGB credibility.
They do, especially because they completely monkey wrench feminist issues, and the rationale behind the medical need to transition (as the strongest advocacy for binary genders) is completely at odds with the rationale of gender-fluid and non-binary folks.
Also, the incidence of other mental illnesses that show up alongside gender dysphoria is DRAMATICALLY higher than in any other “oppressed” or bullied population, and a surprisingly high portion of them revert to their birth gender. All of this to say that many trans people may have other mental health issues, the symptoms of which are often wholly blamed on their gender mismatch and accompanying social marginalization.
You know something is messed up when you can’t honestly criticize it or engage in serious discussions over it merits vs it problems – and get Silenced as a ‘Hater’ when you do bring it up.
In 10 years, there will be many ‘De-Transitioners’ – sad, damaged people who realize that all the propaganda was false and that mutilating themselves didn’t bring the ‘Happiness’ that they were told it would.
There will be MANY expensive malpractice lawsuits – that will, hopefully, bring this issue into serious discussions over it’s validity.
Seems like any discussion of trans issues, especially by cisgender people, is treated as transphobic by Twitter, unless it’s nothing but fawning praise and sympathy.
The majority of Rogan’s commentary over the years seems to be driven by concern for woman and girls, rather than any kind of anger or bigotry against trans people.
Everyone has a right to their opinion on the issue, but by presenting that idea in a way that minimizes or hurts another person is unnecessary and wrong.
if a someone steals we call him out as a deceiving cheat and a piece of shit? or should we accept that he’s just doing what’s “natural” to him and how he feels as an individual because he is a kleptopath and that’s what he does. so should we stop arresting thieves because a few of them have this as a disability?
so leave him be because we might hurt their feelings
true, but who did that besides a couple guys in these comments. cant you save that stuff for the people who read your blog?
you cant force this crap down our throats no matter how hard you try
Wow, the transphobia in this comment section is off the charts. Mates, leave trans people alone. They’re just trying to live their lives like the rest of us. Who cares if they don’t want to be the gender they’re born as? It’s not like they’re killing our families or whatever.
Joe definitely could have phrased this better. I get the idea of what he’s saying, but there are very few people who treat trans people like they’re the gospel choir; most people (like quite a few of you in this comments section) are rather put off by trans people.
no, they want validation from everyone around them, they don’t want to be left alone
I’m put of by you!
The issue is that any position that critiques or challenges policy that supports or is aligned with promoting transgender identity is quickly branded as intolerant or transphobic. It is simply unacceptable to censor, suppress, or intimidate speech in this manner.
i would almost agree? but the transphobia here is not actually anywhere NEAR the transphobia one would expect. lol like.. dummies say things they dont mean on the internet for thrills FLAT OUT all day every day.
and especially trolls do this to rogan comments.
this is TAME compared to what one would expect. one would hope for none, btw, but cmonnnnn
be real now
this cottage industry is designed – intentionally or not – so that people who either disgaree or want to write something inflammatory will engage. almost NO ONE who agrees with the article even engages.
the internet is out of control bro.
“Phobia” mean fear, we are NOT afraid we find it repulsive. Maybe we would leave THEM alone if they weren’t trying to shove this SHIT down our throats!! If I see a guy dressed as a woman- guess what? He’s STILL a HE!!
“But I get it, you’re a 23-year-old woke kid and you’re working for this company and you think you’re gonna put your foot down, I get it.”
Joe’s right, the woke crowd is zero value added to society.
this article is just proving joes point.
“There Are Idiots Who Become Trans” is an objectively true statement that has been taken out of context in order to print a salacious clickbait headline.
Digital Music News is a terrible website and Paul Resnikoff is a wanna-be journalist hack, bad author, and equally terrible human.
Paul’s my hero.
lol… i knew when i was listening to it.. that these articles would exist.
i agree, the statement ““There Are Idiots Who Become Trans, and Now All of a Sudden We Think They’re Amazing” is – whether you understand the context or not – idiotic. (someone call Alanis: i forget whether this is irony or not (meta?)). its also problematic. its also – not entirely untrue, is you consider the fact that indeed there are people who have dont this for attention and admit to it. its also not really anything more than an anecdote, but it doesnt mean that all trans people are not idiots? lol i mean.,. can you just consider for a second what we are sifting through here?
(for the record, i believe trans women are women, trans men are men, and that gender exists along with biological sex. nuance is another thing i believe in, existentially)
what an asshole rogan is for not realizing how offensive he was being…
puke… seriously?? is that all you heard? is that your take away from what he said??? i mean… this isnt one of the bad ones even, where he said something truly egregious that later became obvious he did TRULY believe and would wish he could take back?
the cottage industry that revolves around accusing rogan of transphobia is..extremely fascinating. and perplexing. contradictory. and many other things. but most often? its just nonsense. no wait… its most often exploitative, and horrendously, obviously, filled with lies on top of misrepresentations. and ALMOST NEVER entirely honest.
now that we agree, we need to acknowledge the fact that it was very obvious in this context that joe was using idiot in an endearing way – remember, Joe has LOTS of friends who most people, including joe, would call idiots. what this article has jumped on, is a word. idiot. why not write an article about how joe always says “hello freak bitches” and how misogynist he is. my god.. dude went out of his way to be careful in this episode and if you came away thinking “this guy hates trans people” then you went into the situation looking for a reason to write about how he hates trans people. anyone rational who truly listened would agree, even if he did misstep in a very obvious syntactical way, briefly and innocently. i heard it too, but it wasnt hateful. nobody will ever convince me otherwise. and i know i wont convince you that this is all it was, but i hope i do.
what a bunch of bullshit.
what a nothing burger.
i wish i didnt care.
but i listened to the podcast, and Jim breuer is completely insane, and says some thing that i dont think he would take back because he is incapable of recognizing what is wrong with them.
thats not the case with joe.
this trash article is obviously well intention-ed, and equally wrong.
what an embarrassing endeavor to have undertaken. the author should be ashamed. the editor should be fired.
do better
Brevity is a virtue.
as a trans person, who also HAPPENS to be an idiot? i challenge your assertion that idiots cannot transition.
you do not speak for me.
you do not know my lived experience.
TRANS PEOPLE CAN BE IDIOTS TOO!!
and hey.. it takes one to know one. (an idiot. im not saying the author is trans).
im not a bot, im just a moron who thinks the author is also a moron.
WOW! Relax!! He did NOT say ALL!! And sorry but your post says you’re an IDIOT!!
lol they only write articles like this so that people who disagree will click.
there are no comments that agree with the author yet.
so…. does that mean.. those of us who are commenting with our “correct” perspective, are actually the suckers who they write these articles for???
uh oh….
Plenty PEOPLE agree with the author!!
If you don’t embrace the fundamentalist orthodoxy, you get branded “transphobic.” Boring.
Fruit salad is fruit salad.
Fruitcakes are fruitcakes.
Froot Loops chop off their betters and others.
I have spoken.
You have spoken more stupidity. You’re consistent with that.
JR speaks the truth.
If they cancel Joe Rogan I’m done with spotify. Forever.
Boo hoo, they won’t miss you. Be gone with your idiocy already.
yeah no one cares…
This article confuses me. Are you stating that people that are trans can’t be idiots?
Fuck trans people , we need strength to destroy China , not faggots .
Amen. What do all these limp white millennial dudes think will stop China? Intense counseling and a safe space?
There are idiots all over and many idiotic things like this article. Why did I waste my time reading this fucking garbage propaganda.
Thanks for the comment section though
just so we’re all clear, the opinions of this comment section simply do not matter in the slightest.
The comments were made, they were funny in the moment and also incorrect. Joe isn’t capable of dialing it back because this has always been his brand. He’ll say something off the cuff that he thinks is challenging to the social zeitgeist and rely on his throes of fans (like a majority of you knucklemonkeys) to just deal and agree with him.
Yes, there’s supported evidence behind the claim that there’s a psychological aspect to trans society that we won’t understand. Why? Because we aren’t in it. It’s not up to us to determine whether or not they are crazy.
what IS crazy however, is how every single one of you thinks they know best. You’re cowards, you rely on an anonymous board on a site catering to your social spheres.
IDGAF about trans people, their rights are another issue entirely, if you want to chop off your bits, do it. But you have to suffer the consequences. Trans people are people, just like you people can sometimes be people as well.
Mind your own fucking business, once and for all. None of this has anything to do with any one of you. It has nothing to do with me. Get over it.
Not like it matters because none of you will be capable of understanding, to re-iterate, this site enables anonymous posting, so all of you will just do your thing.
but I’m making it clear here and now, your opinion is useless. Yes, even if you’re trans, on this site, at this moment, your opinion won’t mean anything. Nobody came here to have an open dialogue (like the right will have you believe they want), instead they want to shut down conversation and play victim minority (Much like the Left’s playbook).
Breuer was popular in the 90’s and now he’s a nobody, so what. He’s gotta be edgy, Rogain’s on Spotify’s payroll now and he isn’t going away for this bullshit take. But he is barely a comedian anyway so I honestly have no idea who in their right mind listens to him.
Either way, get off the site. Go play with your kids for once and stop pretending trans people and the liberal woke left are out to get you. Get off your bipartisan bullshit and start actually reading about this stuff.
For the record, the claim that 99% of trans people are mentally ill is utter right leaning propaganda. Just because you don’t like the idea that John is now Jane and you have to call them that doesn’t mean the liberal woke is out to get you. It just means you’re an entitled dickhead who doesn’t understand your civic duty.