Joe Rogan claims he gained 2 million podcast subscribers after his controversial episode with vaccine skeptic Dr. Robert Malone
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- Joe Rogan claims recent controversies surrounding his podcast led to a boost in subscriptions.
- His show came under fire earlier this year following an interview with vaccine skeptic Dr. Robert Malone.
- "During the height of it all, I gained 2 million subscribers," Rogan said Friday.
Joe Rogan said the recent controversy surrounding his show hasn't deterred the podcast's fanbase — instead, he claims his listenership grew by millions amid the uproar.
"It's interesting, my subscriptions went up massively — that's what's crazy," Rogan told Douglas Murray, a British political commentator, during Friday's episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience."
"During the height of it all, I gained 2 million subscribers," he continued.
Spotify did not immediately respond to Insider's request to verify or comment on Rogan's subscription claims. Anonymous sources told The Hollywood Reporter that "The Joe Rogan Experience" has seen consistent growth on Spotify and has not reported any event-tied subscription spikes.
"I'm so pleased for you, I'm pleased for everyone actually," Murray told Rogan in response. "When I watched what they were doing to you I just thought 'as long as you survive this something is going to be okay in this world.'"
In January, over 200 scientists wrote a letter to Spotify claiming that Joe Rogan's podcast was spreading dangerous COVID-19 misinformation, specifically referencing a December episode featuring Dr. Robert Malone, an mRNA scientist turned vaccine skeptic. His three-hour discussion with Rogan has been fact-checked for multiple false and misleading statements.
Following the initial pushback from the scientific community, prominent musicians including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulled their music from Spotify in protest. Meanwhile, a video showing Rogan using the N-word multiple times in old podcast episodes went viral.
Spotify CEO's Daniel Ek stood by Rogan, whose show is the top podcast in the world. The music streaming giant reportedly paid $200 million for the exclusive rights to "The Joe Rogan Experience."
Spotify has since deleted an undisclosed number of episodes of the show and launched a content advisory warning on podcasts discussing the virus.
As for Rogan's response, he has promised to make his show more balance and "try harder to get people with differing opinions."
"I'm not a doctor — I'm a fucking moron. I'm not a respected source of information," he said.