Spotify deletes 113 Joe Rogan podcast episodes as purge continues after host called his use of N-word in resurfaced clips 'regretful and shameful'

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Spotify has taken down 113 episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast from its platform as of Saturday night, after Rogan issued an apology for having used racial slurs on his platform in the past.  

JRE Missing, a website that automatically detects deleted episodes of Rogan's podcast, has been tracking the changes. 

Most of the pulled episodes were recorded before his recent COVID-19 controversy and involved far-right commentators - or outright conspiracy theorists - including Alex Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos, Owen Benjamin and Canadian writer Gavin Miles McInnes. 

Rogan's brand often rejects 'political correctness' as he slams 'cancel culture' but his comments and those from his guests have sparked accusations of transphobia and Islamophobia. He called MMA fighter Fallon Fox 'a f***ing man' after she had transitioned in 2006.

Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes once appeared on Rogan's show where he argued that people who are Muslim are inbred. Rogan has also defended McInnes and the Proud Boys in a number of episodes which have now been removed from Spotify.

Spotify has also removed a number of Rogan's episodes with far-right figures including Jones and McInnes, as well as former Breitbart editor Yiannopoulos. Other Joe Rogan Experience episodes not available on the platform include those with Chris D'Elia - the stand-up comedian who was accused of sexual misconduct.

In one episode with D'Elia, which took place early into the coronavirus pandemic, Rogan boasted about his ability to obtain then-coveted COVID tests as angry fans called him out. At the time, it was very difficult to obtain tests.

Other episodes that were removed include those with Neal Brennan, a comedian known for creating Comedy Central series Chappelle's Show with Dave Chappelle, Shane Smith, the executive chairman of Vice Media, and Dan Savage, an author, journalist and LGBT community activist. 

Rogan, 54, has been under fire in recent weeks from progressives and others in favor of canceling the JRE host's $100 million deal with the world's most popular streaming service for what's been called misinformation regarding the Covid-19 vaccine.  

Spotify has taken down 113 episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast from its platform as of Saturday night 

On Saturday, Rogan was forced to respond to a compilation of resurfaced clips from his podcast which he used the N-word over 20 times

Alex Jones had been banned by Spotify from appearing in content on the platform for creating 'hate content' but Rogan interviewed him anyway. The episodes have all been removed

Spotify has also removed a number of Rogan's episodes with far-right figures including Alex Jones, Gavin McInnes, as well as former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos, pictured above.  The famously provocative commentator attacked feminism, Islam, political correctness and cancel culture during his brief rise to viral fame

Rogan had returned to his podcast on Thursday and mentioned the controversy he has sparked before interviewing Andy Stumpf, a retired Navy SEAL and record-setting wingsuit pilot.

'I put out a video a couple days ago; other than that, not much I can do,' Rogan said, referring to his Instagram posting Sunday in which he insisted he was 'not trying to promote misinformation.'

'When you're hearing it from people who are losing the information attention game - people like CNN - when they're calling for other networks or shows to be censored or limited, it's like, 'Just do better.' 

On Saturday, Rogan was forced to respond to a compilation of resurfaced clips from his podcast - which was hosted on YouTube at the time and not Spotify - in which he used the N-word more than 20 times. 

In total, Rogan utters the word 24 times in 23 separate clips, which were recorded before the host left his longtime platform on YouTube for his exclusive deal with Spotify in 2020.

Rogan admitted on Saturday that 'it looks f***ing horrible. Even to me.'    

Grammy-winning R&B singer India Arie had posted the problematic clips Friday afternoon, while explaining why she decided to part ways with the world's most popular streaming service and calling for her followers to 'delete Spotify,' using the hashtag. 

'You know, the n***** thing,' the former Fear Factor host can be heard saying in one of the snippets of the slur-filled supercut.

'Boy, he's a n*****,' Rogan says in another snippet recorded on an old set of his long-running podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience - now the most listened to program on the Swedish streaming service.

Rogan returned to his podcast this week and mentioned the controversy he has sparked before interviewing Andy Stumpf, a retired Navy SEAL and record-setting wingsuit pilot

The resulting boycotts from the multiple musicians that have followed Young's example saw Spotify lose $2billion in market value this week

The UFC commentator promised the video consisted of 'out of context' bits from his long-running show, but said the video is 'the most regretful and shameful thing I've ever had to talk about publicly.' 

He added: 'I know that to most people, there is no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word, never mind publicly on a podcast, and I agree with that now. I haven't said it in years.'

The comedian argued that he was fascinated by the slur and often used it when quoting standup routines from the likes of Red Foxx and Lenny Bruce.

'It's a very unusual word, but it's not my word to use,' he said. 'I never used it to be racist, because I'm not racist, but whenever you're in a situation where you have to say 'I'm not racist,' you've f***ed up, and I clearly have f***ed up.'

Rogan also responded to a clip that resurfaced of him calling a black neighborhood in Philadelphia that he saw a movie in 'Planet of the Apes.'

'I was trying to make the story entertaining,' he said. 'I did not, nor did I ever say that black people are apes, but it sure f***ing sounded like that. It wasn't a racist story, but it sounded terrible.'

'I've said a lot of f***ing stupid s**t, which is okay, but not when you're talking about race.'

Rogan wrapped up the nearly six-minute clip apologizing three times in hopes that his video would be a 'teachable moment for anybody that doesn't realize how offensive that word can be coming out of a white person's mouth, in context or out of context.' 

India Arie shared resurfaced clips of Spotify's premier podcaster Joe Rogan repeatedly using the N-word, after pulling her discography from the popular streaming platform earlier in the week

In a series of videos and text posts, Arie explained that she did not want her work to help fund Rogan, and chided Spotify for continuing to support him 

Arie joined a number of other artists who have elected to remove their music from the service because of comments made by Rogan on his podcast.

Most notably, renowned singer-songwriter Neil Young announced his exit from the service, citing 'misinformation' Rogan has spread about COVID-19, with artists like Joni Mitchell and Graham Nash also following suit.

Arie added that Young voicing his concerns encouraged her to come forward with her own complaints.

The resulting boycotts from the multiple musicians that have followed Young's example saw Spotify lose $2billion in market value this week.

'I empathize with the people who are leaving for the COVID disinformation reasons – and I think that they should. I also think that Joe Rogan has the right to say whatever he wants to say,' Arie says, before adding, 'I also think that I have the right to say whatever I want to say.

'Spotify is built on the back of the music streaming, so they take this money that's built from streaming and they pay this guy $100million but they pay us .003 percent of a penny? Just take me off! I don't want to generate money that pays this.

'Just take me off. That's where I'm at.'

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek first responded to the controversy surrounding Rogan's comments regarding COVID and vaccines against the deadly virus in an official statement on Sunday, saying Spotify would be adding COVID-19 content advisories to all podcast episodes that cover the virus.

'This advisory will direct listeners to our dedicated COVID-19 Hub, a resource that provides easy access to data-driven facts, up-to-date information as shared by scientists, physicians, academics and public health authorities around the world, as well as links to trusted sources,' the statement said.

Ek has not yet responded to the clips of Rogan using the N-word.

Spotify's market value dropped by around $2bn after singer Neil Young removed his music from the platform in protest against its decision to host the Joe Rogan Experience

Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell also asked to have her music removed from Spotify

On Thursday, the Swede pushed back at employees demanding Rogan be ousted from the service's catalogue, saying the controversial podcaster is vital to the platform's future and it's not the company's place to 'dictate the discourse' of his show.

'There are many things that Joe Rogan says that I strongly disagree with and find very offensive,' Ek said at a company town hall on Wednesday, according to a transcript published by The Verge.

But 'if we want even a shot at achieving our bold ambitions, it will mean having content on Spotify that many of us may not be proud to be associated with.'

'Not anything goes, but there will be opinions, ideas, and beliefs that we disagree with strongly and even makes us angry or sad,' he added.

Rogan took to social media on Monday to publicly address the backlash he is facing for his controversial comments regarding COVID, in a post discussing 'some of the controversy that's been going on over the past few days.'

He told fans on Instagram: 'I don't always get it right. I will do my best to try to balance out these more controversial viewpoints with other people perspectives so we can maybe find a better point of view.'

Speaking on Young and Mitchell's departure from Spotify, Rogan stated: 'I'm very sorry that they feel that way. I most certainly don't want that. I'm a Neil Young fan, I've always have been a Neil Young fan.' 

In May 2020, Rogan signed a massive deal with Spotify that included (most of) his entire library of videos in a deal worth $100million.