“I will quit. If it gets to a point that I can’t do it anymore, where I have to do it in some sort of weird way where I walk on eggshells and mind my p’s and q’s, f*ck that!”
On Tuesday’s episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, popular and outspoken former mixed martial arts commentator Joe Rogan threatened to quit streaming service Spotify, leaving a $200 million deal on the table, if he were asked to self-censor.
During a conversation with MMA fighter Josh Barnett about podcast industry Rogan said, "I will quit. If it gets to a point that I can’t do it anymore, where I have to do it in some sort of weird way where I walk on eggshells and mind my p’s and q’s, f*ck that!"
Rogan expressed his concern of having his life picked apart for "...every little thing."
"There’s more people poring over it but it’s the same thing. I do it the same way," Rogan added. "If I become something different because it grew bigger, I will quit."
Rogan also commented that his job "…requires sincerity; without it, this show doesn’t have any success."
Barnett responded with support saying, "It resonates with people because they’re so starving for that."
Rogan signed a $100 million deal with the music streaming giant in 2020. With approximately a year left on the contract, the deal has already doubled in valuation. Rumble has offered Rogan a deal as well, were he to decide to leave Spotify. This after the podcast was censored, with episodes removed from the catalog.
Recently, musician activists Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, Stephen Stills and others announced a boycott of the platform for not censoring Rogan. In response Spotify has since placed a content advisory on some of Rogan’s episodes related to COVID-19. The streaming platform also removed 113 episodes of Rogan’s podcast in response to the backlash.
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