Andrew Yang posts then deletes tweet defending Joe Rogan against allegations of racism

In a tweet on Sunday afternoon, Yang posted, "I don’t think Joe Rogan is a racist - the man interacts with and works with black people literally all of the time. Do I know black friends of Joe's who would swear by him? Yes I do."

He later apologized for having posted the tweet which he deleted. In a thread, he wrote that:

"I like to believe the best of people - especially if I’ve met and spent time with that person. Sometimes it makes me miss something. I think we should have the capacity to forgive people - whether a podcaster or a mayor - if they mess up. Maybe it’s because I mess up too.

"Racism is real, deep, corrosive and even lethal. I know that. I made a mistake in an earlier tweet tonight that downplayed these realities.

"I deleted the tweet because it was wrong-headed. It also hurt people, which is never my intent. I’m sorry. I’m learning and appreciate those who reached out to express their feelings.

"I like to believe the work I’ve done these past years had the goal of uplifting everyone, particularly those on the outside looking in for any reason, be it poverty or marginalization or race. I’ve always wanted to help those with the least the most.

I’m going to keep doing all I can for a more fair, equitable, and just country. That means for everyone. Universal Basic Income, Democracy Reform and unity are how we get there."

Yang was a guest on Rogan's podcast in 2019 while running for president.

Rogan apologized late last week after a video showing him using racial slurs, that he claimed were taken out of context, was posted by far-left activists. Rogan said he was quoting other people. "It’s not my word to use. I am well aware of that now, but for years I used it in that manner. I never used it to be racist because I’m not racist."

He added, "There's nothing I can do to take that back. I wish I could. Obviously, that's not possible. I certainly wasn't trying to be racist, and I certainly would never want to offend someone for entertainment with something as stupid as racism."

Over 70 episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience were removed from Spotify over the weekend. Ek’s letter to Spotify employees also said it was Rogan’s decision to remove dozens of episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience from the platform.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek released a memo over the weekend to his employees that he was "deeply sorry" for the way Joe Rogan’s podcast affected them.

"There are no words I can say to adequately convey how deeply sorry I am for the way The Joe Rogan Experience controversy continues to impact each of you. Not only are some of Joe Rogan’s comments incredibly hurtful – I want to make clear that they do not represent the values of this company."

However, Ek added that he does not plan to remove The Joe Rogan Experience from the streaming platform.

"While I strongly condemn what Joe has said and I agree with his decision to remove past episodes from our platform, I realize some will want more. I want to make one point very clear – I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer."

Ek continued by saying, "...canceling voices is a slippery slope."

The Swedish billionaire CEO also said that Spotify will make an "…incremental investment of $100 million for the licensing, development, and marketing of music (artists and songwriters) and audio content from historically marginalized groups. This will dramatically increase our efforts in these areas."