“He defended me,” Joe Rogan thanking Israel Adesanya for voicing out during ‘N-word’ controversy leaves UFC superstar emotional
Israel Adesanya conforms on his friendship with Joe Rogan, in lieu of Spotify controversy callback.
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Israel Adesanya and Joe Rogan maintain a healthy friendship (Source: Twitter/IMAGO)
UFC’s color commentator Joe Rogan is famed for hosting the prominent The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. The JRE MMA show once topped Spotify’s list of the most popular podcasts for 2022. The show has over 1900 estimated episodes (as of 2022 end), averaging 12 Million listeners. Spotify paid over $100 million on exclusive rights in 2020 for the show, that only speaks to its volumes. However, Rogan once got in a deep jam for alleged usage of the ‘N-word’ slur on the show; consequently, he has had an ally through it all – Israel Adesanya.
The likes of Dwayne Johnson and Lakers legend Kareem Abdul Jabbar defended him amidst the massive Spotify controversy, on COVID-19 misinformation. Adding to the pile was his ‘N-word’ slur that Johnson later said was a learning moment. Rogan had prompted the likes of Right-wing personalities defending him during the controversy. But Adesanya’s support meant a lot more. Here’s what he said on the matter:
Even when Sean Strickland fought Israel Adesanya,...Izzy's my friend...I love Izzy, He defended me when the 'N-word' video came out. Dude, that made me tear up...As a human being - one of the favorite people that I've ever met.Joe Rogan via JRE
This was during an intermittent episode of The JRE MMA show that followed, along with Bert Kreischer and Tom Segura. Time and again Rogan has commended the fighter’s graceful show of sportsmanship even in the face of immense odds. Adesanya too holds a deep reverence for Rogan. Concurrently, here’s the latest post on X from him, appreciating the association:
Rogan faced a lot of backlash over his Spotify-exclusive podcast. However, Adesanya had supported him, speaking at the pre-fight press conference of his main event at UFC 271, against Robert Whittaker. He later stood by Joe Rogan’s sincere apology for using the N-word.
Israel Adesanya thinks the Joe Rogan controversy has defamatory impact
Joe Rogan is a celebrated MMA commentator who delves into a plethora of topics on his podcast. He is so popular that last year he was invited to commentate by ONE Championship founder and CEO, Chatri Sityodtong.
However, said podcast – ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ once got into a lot of trouble for the host’s over-usage of the ‘N-word’ racial slur. Despite selecting some 70 additional videos from his podcast, Rogan remained in a stalemate, until numerous artists who boycotted Spotify later returned to the streaming platform.
Former-middleweight Israel Adesanya has been on his side though, through thick and thin. After his unanimous decision win at UFC 271, the fighter appeared on the Flagrant 2 podcast to talk about the Joe Rogan controversy.
It’s a systematic way of trying to take power away from someone…I know Rogan…When (the N-word) video came out, yeah, he was wrong…He shouldn’t have said that. And he said ‘I’m sorry.’ That was the most sincere (apology), not scripted-Hollywood-my-manager-wrote-this-down-for-me-to-apologize.
Israel Adesanya via Flagrant Podcast
Famous image consultant Mike Paul had deliberated that just an apology would not be enough for Rogan to bounce back from the footfall of feedback on this controversy. However, with ‘The Last Stylebender’ and his continued support, things are war less precarious than seemed to be.
Adesanya and Rogan have maintained a healthy acquaintance for a long and uphold it even today.
In case you missed it:
- Singer India Arie slams Joe Rogan for using “N-word” in podcast, demands her music be taken off from Spotify
- “Stand your ground” – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro rallies to Joe Rogan’s support amid Spotify tiff
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Ajinkya Aswale
(1115 Articles Published)