CNN's Jim Acosta disputes the idea that Joe Rogan isn't a racist after he used the N-word more than 20 times over the years.
Debating the issue with political analysts John Avlon and Margaret Hoover, Acosta first responded to Rogan's video.
"I haven't said it in years," Rogan said after episodes of his show were removed from Spotify due to his racism exhibited. "But for a long time, when I would bring that word up, like, come up in conversation and instead of saying the N-word i would just say the word. I never used it to be racist, because I'm not racist, but whenever you're in a situation when you have to say 'I'm not racist, you f*cking done. I've clearly f*cked up."
"Sound like he's racist," said Acosta.
Discussing the latest Rogan controversy, Acosta asked conservative Margaret Hoover and CNN analyst John Avlon if a host can say the word while knowingly being recorded at least 20 times.
But using the word isn't Rogan's only problem, there are examples of racist conversations surfacing on videos now too.
Political commentator Goldie Taylor drew attention to a conversation Rogan had with one guest saying that African Americans have a proclivity for violence and claimed that there were no farmers in Africa until white Europeans.
Speechless.https://twitter.com/KnowS0mething/status/1490112448225030145\u00a0\u2026— G O L D I E. (@G O L D I E.) 1644153696
Ok, so now I\u2019m *thinking.* If he says Europeans evolved to suppress that \u201cviolence gene\u201d when they left Africa and \u201cbecame farmers,\u201d would not enslaved Africans in America have evolved in the same way? And how does he explain that brutal subjugation?— G O L D I E. (@G O L D I E.) 1644161403
Plain math: Rogan and Spotify are intentionally profiting off hate speech, while cloaking themselves in innocent inquiry. Poppycock.— G O L D I E. (@G O L D I E.) 1644161740
Avlon said that people shouldn't be all that shocked because it has always been part of who Rogan is. He can't understand why Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) decided to come out in support of Rogan, however.
"Look, there are always issues where people say things a long time ago," Avlon said. "But the problem is the pattern that's emerging around Joe Rogan. Folks really shouldn't be shocked because this has always been part of his appeal. The question is, what's the next shoe to drop, third, fourth and fifth? You want to support free speech, but folks got to realize who they're aligning themselves with, lest you get burned. That happened to Dan Crenshaw."
Crenshaw is fighting to remain relevant among the far-right, however. After he referred to members of the Freedom Caucus like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) as "grifters."
“There’re performance artists, and there’re legislators,” he said in Dec. 2021.
He also came under attack from former President Donald Trump, being called a RINO (Republican in name only) for admitting Trump lost in 2020.
Hoover disagrees with the characterization of Rogan as a racist because he apologized.
"Rogan spoke pretty contritely there," said Hoover. "I think we're a country that doesn't tolerate racism and a country that tolerates people who ask for forgiveness. It's up to viewers to decide whether or not Joe Rogue is sincere. I wouldn't call him a racist after apologizing for using the word."
See the discussion below:
Joe Rogan racism apology www.youtube.com
