Pop Culture
Ava DuVernay’s Production Company Cuts Ties with Spotify
Ava DuVernay’s production company Array has cut ties with Spotify, The New York Times reports. The decision comes just a year after Array signed an exclusive, multiyear deal with Spotify to produce podcasts. No projects were released, but several scripted and unscripted series had been in development. Neither DuVernay nor Array has given a reason for the split, and Spotify has not offered comment. But the A Wrinkle in Time director joins a growing list of artists who have exited the streaming giant in recent weeks, ever since Neil Young called out the company for spreading COVID-19 misinformation on The Joe Rogan Experience. Since Young’s music was removed, many artists have either followed suit or offered their support to Rogan, and #CancelSpotify t...
Elon Musk Compares Justin Trudeau to Hitler
Elon Musk took a break from murdering monkeys to accuse someone else of acting like Hitler. In a tweet on February 17th, the Tesla and SpaceX founder shared a meme comparing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the infamous Nazi leader. Musk’s indefensible comparison came in response to an article by CoinDesk reporting that Trudeau’s government was sanctioning 34 crypto wallets tied to the ongoing Canadian trucker vaccine protests. Musk, a crypto enthusiast, decided that such an action was tantamount to systematically murdering millions of people. Over a black-and-white image of Adolf Hitler, Musk’s tweet included the text, “Stop comparing me to Justin Trudeau. I had a budget.” Advertisement Related Video This is wrong, not just morally and historically, but factually as well. Musk is...
Judge Blocks Release of Bob Saget’s Death Records At Family’s Request
A Florida judge has granted a request by the family of Bob Saget to temporarily block the release of any photos, videos, or other records related to the investigation into his death. According to lawsuit filed by Saget’s wife, Kelly Rizzo, and his three daughters, several media outlets had filed requests for the public release of these documents from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the local medical examiner’s office. The family’s complaint argued that “no legitimate public interest would be served by the release or dissemination of the records to the public.” The records reportedly include graphic videos and photos of Saget’s body, as well as audio recordings recorded during the course of the investigation and autopsy. Advertisement Related Video On Wednesday, Judge Vincent Chiu si...
Did Melania Trump Buy Her Own NFT?
Melania Trump auctioned off an NFT last month for about $170,000, but as Vice reports, the funds for the winning bid came from the same crypto wallet that created the NFT. So did the former First Lady buy her own NFT? And if not, what happened? Trump first got into selling NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, last year. Her latest auction involved the “Head of State Collection, 2022”, which included an NFT, a water color, and a white broad-brimmed hat that she wore for a visit from French President Emmanuel Macron in 2018 (pictured above). The sale took place three weeks ago on the Solana blockchain for 1,800 SOL (about $182,000 today, but closer to $170,000 last month). As The New York Times reported at the time, this was significantly below the $250,000 that Trump had been seekin...
Brazilian Podcaster’s Nazi Comments Show How Joe Rogan’s Model Is Going Global
Three years ago, video game streamer Bruno Aiub decided to start a new podcast, Flow, modeled on The Joe Rogan Experience. “I said, ‘Man, it would be really cool if I did that here in Brazil, since nobody else is,’” he told The New York Times. He interviewed comedians, academics, government officials, and ufologists, drinking alcohol and smoking weed in episodes that lasted several hours. Aiub, who goes by the moniker Monark, quickly became one of the country’s most popular podcasters. His meteoric rise is due in no small part to the model developed by his hero, but as he learned last week, aping Rogan comes with risk. In a February 7th conversation with two members of the Brazilian congress, Aiub argued that Brazil should embrace free speech absolutism, including legalizing...
Bob Saget Died From Brain Trauma
Bob Saget died from brain trauma, which he reportedly sustained after accidentally hitting the back of his head on an object. The injury caused internal brain bleeding, and while Saget was apparently unaware of its severity, it caused him to pass away in his sleep. Saget’s cause of death was shared by his family in a statement released on Wednesday (February 9th). “Now that we have the final conclusions from the authorities’ investigation, we felt it only proper that the fans hear those conclusions directly from us,” the family said. “The authorities have determined that Bob passed from head trauma. They have concluded that he accidentally hit the back of his head on something, thought nothing of it and went to sleep. No drugs or alcohol were involved.” Advertisement Related Video “As we c...
“Cherry Picking Data”: How Joe Rogan’s Infamous Interview with Robert Malone Spread Misinformation
Neil Young may have lit the match that sparked an exodus from Spotify, but Joe Rogan poured the gas himself with a now-infamous interview with Dr. Robert Malone. That episode of The Joe Rogan Experience prompted hundreds of scientists and healthcare professionals to chastise Spotify for hosting “mass-misinformation events,” and seemingly served as the immediate inspiration for Young’s decision to leave the platform. Now, the fact-checking podcast Science Vs has interviewed some of the scientists doing research that Malone cited in the interview, going back to the source to demonstrate that he “cherry picked the data” to spread misinformation to millions. Malone has claimed to be an expert on the COVID-19 vaccines, and he did perform some of the foundational experiments ...
Spotify Sticking with Joe Rogan Despite Past Use of N-Word
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek called Joe Rogan’s past use of racial slurs “incredibly hurtful,” but doubled downed on keeping Rogan’s podcast on the streaming service. In a letter sent to Spotify staff on Sunday (via The Hollywood Reporter), Ek said he does “not believe that silencing Joe is the answer. We should have clear lines around content and take action when they are crossed, but canceling voices is a slippery slope.” Last week, amid a controversy surrounding Rogan’s penchant for spreading misinformation about COVID-19, the singer India.Arie shared a video highlighting 24 instances in which Rogan used the N-word during episodes of his podcast. Advertisement Related Video Spotify quietly removed 70 episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience — at Rogan’s request, according to Ek. Rogan also issued ...
Dwayne Johnson Walks Back Support for Joe Rogan Following N-Word Controversy
Taking it back: Dwayne Johnson rescinded his previous support for Joe Rogan on Friday following a video of the podcast host’s frequent use of the n-word going viral. Amid the controversy surrounding Rogan’s penchant for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 on his podcast, which has prompted Neil Young and numerous other artists to pull their music from Spotify, Johnson had initially landed on the side of The Joe Rogan Experience host. The actor previously left a comment of encouragement on Rogan’s Instagram, writing, “Great stuff here brother. Perfectly articulated. Look forward to coming on one day and breaking out the tequila with you.” Advertisement Related Video However, all that changed after he became aware of the former Fear Factor host’s frequent habit of using the racial s...
Study Finds 19% of Spotify Users Have Unsubscribed or Plan To Following Joe Rogan Backlash
Just as a growing list of artists including Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash, and David Crosby have followed Neil Young’s lead by removing their music from Spotify, it turns out a significant number of the streamer’s customers are taking their listening elsewhere, too. According to a new consumer poll by Forrester Research (via Variety), 19 percent of Spotify users have canceled their subscription — or plan to in the near future — in response to the controversy surrounding podcast host Joe Rogan. As a refresher, Rogan — whose The Joe Rogan Experience is the most-streamed Spotify exclusive podcast — has become a hotbed of misinformation about COVID-19, among other nonsense. Spotify CEO Daniel EK has doubled down on his decision to keep ties with Rogan, prompting Young and other ar...
Joe Rogan Apologizes for Past Use of N-Word: “I Clearly Have Fucked Up”
Joe Rogan has apologized for his past use of the N-word, saying in an Instagram video that it was “the most regretful and shameful thing that I’ve ever had to talk about publicly.” The host of The Joe Rogan Experience posted the video apology hours after Spotify took down 70 of his show’s episodes. The removal of at least some of these episodes was apparently due Rogan’s use of racist or other derogatory language. Earlier on Friday, the Grammy Award-winning singer India.Arie highlighted 24 instances in which Rogan used the N-word during episodes of his podcast. While arguing that Arie’s video was “made of clips taken out of context of me of … 12 years of conversations on my podcast, and it’s all smushed together,” Rogan nonetheless admitted that “it looks fuckin’ horrible, even to me.” Adv...
Spotify Remove Episodes of Joe Rogan’s Podcast Featuring Racial Slurs
Spotify reportedly removed 70 episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience on Friday evening, according to CNET. The episodes in question all pre-date 2019 and are unrelated to Rogan’s ongoing controversy over COVID-19 misinformation. Rather, the removal of at least some of these episodes was apparently due to racist or other derogatory language. Earlier on Friday, the Grammy Award-winning singer India.Arie highlighted 24 instances in which Rogan used the N-word during episodes of his podcast. Advertisement Related Video “He shouldn’t even be uttering the word. Don’t even say it, under any context. Don’t say it. That’s where I stand. I have always stood there,” said Arie, who earlier in the week pulled her music from Spotify, citing Rogan’s “language around race.” According to the official subredd...
