Joni Mitchell said she is joining Neil Young and removing her music from Spotify over 'lies that are costing people their lives'
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- Joni Mitchell said Friday she decided to remove her music from Spotify.
- Her decision comes after Neil Young did the same, citing the platform's hosting of Joe Rogan.
- "Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives," Mitchell said.
Joni Mitchell announced Friday she plans to remove her music from Spotify in solidarity with Neil Young, who pulled his own music catalog from the platform this week after it declined to stop streaming Joe Rogan's popular podcast "The Joe Rogan Experience."
"I've decided to remove all my music from Spotify. Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue," Mitchell said in a statement shared on her website.
The singer-songwriter also included a link to an open letter signed by 240 doctors, scientists, educators, and other healthcare workers that called on Spotify to remove Rogan's show to mitigate the spread of misinformation on COVID-19.
Spotify did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on Mitchell's statement.
Young gave the platform an ultimatum earlier this week, saying: "They can have Rogan or Young. Not both." His music was removed after Spotify did not take action on Rogan's program.
In a statement to The Wall Street Journal, a Spotify spokesperson said: "We want all the world's music and audio content to be available to Spotify users. With that comes great responsibility in balancing both safety for listeners and freedom for creators."
"The company has detailed content policies in place and has removed over 20,000 COVID-related podcast episodes since the start of the pandemic," the spokesperson said, adding: "We regret Neil's decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon."