Joe Rogan: “I Gained Two Million Subscribers” After Failed Cancellation Attempts; 11 Million Listeners Per Episode Despite Controversies

AUSTIN, TX – Comedian and mega-successful podcaster Joe Rogan noted on Friday that “The Joe Rogan Experience” has gained over two million subscriptions – as opposed to losing any – despite several attempts to “cancel” him over several recent controversies.

Rogan, 54, came under fire by some circles after he featured several guests on his podcast that promoted negative viewpoints of COVID-19 vaccines, in addition to clips from older episodes where the UFC commentator utilized the “n-word.”

While talking to British political commentator Douglas Murray on Friday’s “Joe Rogan Experience,” Rogan noted a large number of new listeners that his show has attracted – which averages 11 million listeners per episode – despite repeated attempts to cancel him.

“It’s interesting, my subscriptions went up massively…that’s what’s crazy,” Rogan said. “During the height of it all, I gained two million subscribers.”

On New Year’s Eve, Rogan drew controversy after welcoming biochemist and early mRNA technology developer Dr. Robert Malone, who is known for having controversial anti-vaccine viewpoints. In protest to promoting alleged COVID-19 “misinformation,” Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and several other musical artists on Spotify – the streaming service that Rogan’s podcast exclusively airs on – pulled their music.

Shortly afterwards, another issue surfaced when older clips of Rogan’s podcast surfaced where he can be heard using the “n-word” multiple times, something he has since claimed was not done so in a “racist context” but nonetheless admitted was wrong to do.

Spotify refused to penalize Rogan over the controversies despite the calls for him to be cancelled, although the streaming platform did pull over 100 episodes from the show’s archive – most featuring conservative guests – for “problematic” content.