Joe Rogan responded to the ouster of Tucker Carlson from Fox News on Thursday, speculating about the politics behind the scenes of Carlson’s firing and the next moves for the popular cable news host.
During “The Joe Rogan Experience” Episode #1977 with Dave Smith, Rogan broached the subject of Carlson’s abrupt departure from Fox News.
When Carlson came up, Rogan’s immediate response was to deconstruct the preppy, buttoned-up popular image of the former Fox News host. Rogan highlighted the countercultural credentials of the paleoconservative pundit, suggesting that Carlson’s musical taste suggests a history of psychedelic exploration.
“He’s different from people want to pretend he is. First of all, the guy was a Deadhead. You know that? He used to follow the [Grateful] Dead around, so for sure [Carlson] dropped acid. How else can you enjoy the music?” Rogan mused.
However, the conversation became more serious when Rogan speculated about the damage that an independent Carlson could bring on his former employer if he decided to go rogue and take his message to the internet.
“He’s really designed for the internet. He’s going to [go to the internet], unless they paid him off. If I was a person in a position of power, and a wild card like Tucker Carlson got released from Fox News, and maybe Rumble makes a deal with him or something like that — do you have any fucking idea how big that would be? It could make that app, it could make that platform. … It would be worth it for them to invest a considerable amount of money. But if I was Fox News, that’s the last thing I would want, so I would make sure that we have him locked up for the entire term of some contract, some no-compete, and pay him off — you’d be better off just giving him the same amount of money he made when he was on the air, than if you would have him opposing you.”
“I wonder what he’s already under contract for,” Smith contributed. “There may already be some clause in his contract that says, you know, if we leave, there’s x amount of time — I don’t know.
“I’m sure! They’re fucking Fox News, man,” Rogan responded. “They’re smart. They’re not stupid. It was very shocking, seeing him leave.”
As host of the most widely listened to podcast in the world, Rogan is no stranger to attempts to censor his message or deplatform his show entirely.
Last year, Rogan was at the center of a headline-grabbing controversy after Canadian folk musician Neil Young threatened to leave the music streaming platform Spotify unless they removed Joe Rogan’s show from their catalogue. Young’s boycott was ultimately unsuccessful in usurping Rogan’s show, but the widely publicized effort was a testament to the challenges faced by those who wish to challenge the establishment narratives.
While Rogan won the war over his podcast last year, Carlson’s firing is a demonstration of the constant pressures on those who attempt to resist the mainstream, as the leviathan of establishment authorities work ruthlessly to silence their opponents.
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