Joe Rogan takes on cancel culture, Will and Jada, and gender roles at Fort Worth show
Joe Rogan fans aren’t an easily defined lot.
The iconoclast comedian and host of one of the biggest podcasts in the world “The Joe Rogan Experience” is often labeled and castigated by whatever group he has annoyed at any given moment.
And the truth is, it’s usually his fault. Even if his detractors’ ire is misplaced, it’s hard not to notice that Rogan has typically made himself an easy target.
The crowd for his sold-out show at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth Wednesday night included a broad spectrum of people: young, tattooed twenty-somethings, married couples, and older, weed-smoking good ole boys.
It was a testament to Rogan’s broad appeal even if he’s often caricatured into a one-dimensional, mouth-breathing, UFC-loving bro.
And much of his one hour, five minute set centered on clapping back at how he’s perceived, dealing with cancel culture, and his views on sexuality and gender roles.
Fans were forced to put their mobile devices in locked pouches as they entered the arena. It’s a move other comics have used to keep phone videos of material from hitting the internet. It was the first comedy show at the arena, which opened in November 2019.
Dressed in an untucked, button-down dress shirt with blue jeans and white sneakers, Rogan, 54, followed comics Tony Hinchcliffe, Brian Simpson, and Hans Kim.
“It’s nice to see smiling faces during my time of perpetual cancellation,” Rogan said. “Thank God for Will Smith. He took a lot of heat off me. When you get canceled you just have to hang in there until someone [screws] up worse. Someone will come along, someone who might have a witch for a wife.”
He fantasized about Chris Rock having a year of jujitsu training to take Will Smith down at the Oscars. Rogan’s aim, however, was mostly focused on Jada Smith as a controlling shrew.
“She treats him like a girl who is married to a drug dealer,” Rogan said, using a feminine voice. “You better not divorce me. I know [stuff].”
The bit drew a laugh, but Rogan quickly told the audience that his Will and Jada material was a work-in-progress. He repeatedly reminded fans that he’s usually not trying to make a point with his observations, but, of course, he often was.
“That’s why your phone is in a bag. That bit is not done. I’m still working on that one,” he said. “This is dangerous territory.”
That led to a bit on strong women, Jeff Bezos’ divorce and male gold diggers, with an unnecessary (and unfunny) shot at the WNBA.
“Male gold diggers are like female professional basketball players,” he said. “I’m sure they’re real, but I can’t name one. And I don’t think they get paid as much.”
From there, Rogan went into a lengthy bit about loving nature documentaries and tried to make a paper-thin connection between the MeToo movement and the sexual dynamics between hyenas.
It was purposefully absurd and drew wild laughter from both his male and female fans.
“Listen, this is the [stuff] that keeps getting me in trouble. ... I don’t mean what I’m saying. If you talk to me off stage, I’m very reasonable,” Rogan confessed, perhaps wanting it both ways.
He described being accused of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation from Prince Harry and echoing some of his previous comments in the wake of Neil Young pulling his music from Rogan’s podcast platform Spotify.
“For real, sincerely, this is my perspective,” he said. “If you’re getting your vaccine advice from me … is that really my fault? What dumb [stuff] were you about to do when my stupid [expletive] idea sounded better? What are we talking about? Who is getting influenced?”
Rogan then underlined his point. “Well, if they listen to me, listen to this: Don’t listen to me. Don’t take my advice. I don’t even take my advice.”
His funniest material was when he took aim at himself. And when he wasn’t funny, he was at least interesting.
He confessed that the emergence of COVID-19 in March 2020 freaked him out but “by December of 2021, I was like, ‘Was your grandpa fat? Because I want to go outside.’”
At times, he channeled the machismo of Andrew Dice Clay, stalking the in-the-round stage. In another moment, he evoked the late Sam Kinison’s penchant for finding something hilarious about a missionary’s murder upon reaching an indigenous tribe on a remote island with the hope of teaching them the Bible.
“You’re going to bring bibles to people who can’t read,” Rogan asked incredulously. “How about a book on how to read books?”
He expressed regret over using the n-word over the years on his podcast, even if, as he claimed, he never used it in a racist way.
A compilation video of Rogan using the word was posted on social media a few months ago. It embarrassed him and he admitted it looked awful.
“I’m not a racist, but if you have to say I’m not a racist, clearly there’s an issue,” he said. “I never said it to be racist but if the word came up in a conversation, like if we were talking about a Richard Pryor routine I wouldn’t [mess] it up by just saying the n-word, I would say the word.”
“I watched it and I was like, ‘that was racist as [heck].’ Even to me,” he said. “Oh my God, I’ve got to move to Florida. This is too racist for Texas.”
He accused woke culture of being inconsistent but his examples seemed a tad flimsy.
“Why is it OK to say Englishman but you can’t say Chinaman? Help me out. What are we doing? Is China a bad word?” he said.
“When I was in high school you could be Hitler for Halloween. Nobody cared,” he added. “We weren’t so bereft of real enemies that we wanted to attack a kid for dressing up like Charlie Chaplin.”
I’m about the same age as Rogan. Please correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t remember Hitler costumes being a Halloween hallmark. Swing and a miss. And Chinaman? Is this really a hill to die on? No, it’s not, and Rogan knows better.
He told us himself: don’t come to him for advice. He pushed back at claims that he’s homophobic by telling the crowd how much he wishes he were gay.
“I’m not attracted to men but I wish I was. Looks like a good time,” he said. “Hanging out with only guys, everyone knows what’s going on, very little deception necessary. No one can get pregnant. Sign me up. It’s a protected part of society where people aren’t even allowed to make fun of you.”
His suggestion that everyone could use a paranoid, marijuana freak-out at an airport was reminiscent of the late Bill Hicks in all of the best ways.
“Being canceled by the White House is not as bad as being too high,” Rogan said. “If you want to know what’s in the basement, you have to go down the stairs. You’ve got to look around, you’ve got to get scared. It’s like a near-death experience that you always survive. Then it wears off.”
The experience, he said, always leaves him wanting “to be a better person.”
It was one of the few bits where Rogan did not shy away from his underlying point.
This story was originally published April 21, 2022 at 10:12 AM.
