• Spotify reportedly held a company-wide meeting Wednesday where several employees expressed disdain for the fact that the platform carries certain episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience which they say include “transphobic” remarks.
• “You realize that people are not looking at this objectively,” Rogan said in a July podcast. “They are activists. they have this agenda, and the agenda is very ideologically driven that anybody who even thinks they might be trans should be trans, are trans, and the more trans people the better. And the more kids that transition, the better.”
• In another episode, Rogan deadnamed and misgendered Caitlin Jenner when describing a joke he performed in 2016 that suggested Jenner had been “[talked] into” becoming a woman by the Kardashian-Jenner’s. 
• According to Vice’s Motherboard, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said the company heard its staff’s concerns but has decided that the content in question will not be removed. A spokesperson later said that the content did not violate the platform’s policies.

Spotify Employees Want Certain JRE Podcasts Pulled

At an internal company-wide meeting on Wednesday, Spotify employees reportedly voiced concerns about the platform carrying episodes of Joe Rogan’s podcast which include comments they found“transphobic.”

Vice’s Motherboard first reported on the news, citing three sources who provided details of the meeting. All remained anonymous because they aren’t authorized to discuss internal Spotify issues with the press. 

According to these sources, several employees reportedly asked CEO Daniel Ek why these episodes remained on the platform, with one employee saying LGBTQ+ employees “feel unwelcome and alienated because of leadership’s response in JRE conversations.”

“Why has Spotify chosen to ignore Spectrum [Employee Resource Group’s] guidance about transphobic content in the [Joe Rogan Experience] catalog?” another employee allegedly asked Ek.

One of the moments the employees are referring to stems from a podcast in July. In it, Rogan spoke with Abigail Shrier, author of the book Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. 

“And by the resistance to your book and the resistance to these conversations, we realize that people are not looking at this objectively,” Rogan said of transgender issues. “This is not something that everyone’s looking at all sides of it. They are activists. They have this agenda, and the agenda is very ideologically driven that anybody who even thinks they might be trans should be trans, are trans, and the more trans people the better. And the more kids that transition, the better.”

Ek Defends Keeping Controversial Podcasts

For now, Spotify has taken the stance that this episode can remain on the platform.

“In the case of Joe Rogan, a total of 10 meetings have been held with various groups and individuals to hear their respective concerns,” Ek said at the meeting, according to Motherboard’s sources. “And some of them want Rogan removed because of things he’s said in the past.”

“Others have concerns specifically over a recent episode,” Ek reportedly added in reference to Rogan’s July podcast with Shrier. “And Joe Rogan and the episode in question have been reviewed extensively. The fact that we aren’t changing our position doesn’t mean we aren’t listening. It just means we made a different judgment call.”

Notably, those three internal sources also told Motherboard that Ek instructed employees not to leak this discussion to the media, reportedly saying “If we can’t have open, confidential debates, we will have to move those discussions to closed doors.”

Once this story did reach the media, however, a Spotify spokesperson told Motherboard: “At Spotify, we are strongly committed to the LGBTQ+ community and diversity in all of its forms. All employees are respected and we believe that everyone has a right to be heard.”

“All content on Spotify is subject to our long-standing content guidelines. Our diverse team of experts reviewed the content in question and determined that it did not meet the criteria for removal from our platform.”

Rogan’s Comments About Caitlyn Jenner

In addition to Rogan’s podcast featuring Shrier, Rogan has also come under fire for a Sept. 11 podcast with mixed martial artist Tim Kennedy. In that episode, Rogan deadnames and misgenders Caitlyn Jenner.

He also Rogan breaks down his writing process for a joke he made about Jenner in his 2016 Netflix special, “Triggered.”

“I wanted to get to, people are saying, ‘He was born a woman. He’s always been a woman,’” Rogan said of Jenner. “I was like, ‘Maybe, or maybe if you live with crazy bitches long enough, they fucking turn you into one.’ Maybe you go crazy. Maybe that, too.”

After calling the Kardashian-Jenner family “crazy bitches,” Rogan proceeded to continue breaking down his joke.

“And so I came up with this thing where they’re demons and they whisper in his ear in the middle of the night, and they talk him into being a woman, but it took forever to figure out a way — but it worked.”

“Like, it worked, and people didn’t even get mad at me for it. I just had to figure out a way to do it, where first of all, I belittle myself, and then, I explain it in a way where it’s not dehumanizing trans people. It’s just like saying, ‘Are we sure?’” 

However, a number of people have now criticized those comments, including Jenner herself, who told TMZ Wednesday, “This is not the first time he’s said things like this.”

“He’s a homophobic, transphobic ass.”

“Joe Rogan has absolutely no idea when it comes to trans issues,” she continued. “He says maybe because I was around all these ‘crazy bitches’ that I, you know, transitioned. It’s not even close. I’ve had these — I’ve been gender dysphoric my entire life.”

Some have pushed back on the idea that Rogan’s comments about Jenner were deliberately malicious, arguing that they began and ended as a joke. 

“Being gender dysphoric, transitioning, all of that is not a joke,” Jenner said in response to such defense of Rogan. “It’s very serious stuff. You’re concerning family, friends, society, all of these types of things, and I just feel like Joe Rogan has a lot to learn.” 

In 2018, Twitter banned the misgendering or deadnaming transgender people — a move Rogan has been critical of. 

Previous Accusations of Censorship

At the beginning of the month, Rogan’s exclusive streaming deal with Spotify officially began. Almost immediately after the platform started hosting his old podcasts, users noticed that some old episodes didn’t appear. That’s despite the fact that Rogan had said that his entire library would be available to stream.

Notably, at the time, it also seemed like the missing podcasts had a common link: they all featured controversial figures such as Alex Jones, Chris D’Elia, Milo Yiannopoulos, Gavin McInnes.

However, people later began to notice that several other missing episodes featured far less controversial figures such as actor Tommy Chong and comedian Nick Kroll.

Nonetheless, many accused Spotify of censoring controversial voices, especially since Rogan is known for talking to people across the political spectrum.

Later, Alex Jones, who said he spoke with Rogan about the matter, claimed Spotify needed to migrate over 1,500+ files, some of which were corrupted. He also said that Spotify wanted a second rollout of episodes.

“Here’s the key,” Jones added. “Joe Rogan’s favorite 100 episodes of the last 10 years or so will be left on YouTube starting December 31 when he goes exclusively to Spotify. For this couple months no man’s land the content will be on both platforms and will be migrating over.”

“And so that’s why the Alex Jones interview is not there. That’s why some of the other interviews aren’t there. Because those are going to be the exclusive interviews that are left on YouTube where, in Joe’s words, they’ll probably get more views than if they were on Spotify.”

See what others are saying: (Vice Motherboard) (Insider) (Fox News)