Joe Rogan Calls Elon Musk A 'Superhero' After Twitter Acquisition
By Kristin Myers on April 28, 2022 at 8:30 AM EDT
Updated on May 10, 2022 at 2:48 PM EDT
According to the New York Post, the controversial Spotify podcaster had nothing but positive things to say about the Tesla founder on a Tuesday night episode of the “Joe Rogan Experience” with guest Jessica Kirston. On Monday, the Twitter board confirmed that they had accepted Musk's $44 billion dollar offer to buy the social media company.
Joe Rogan Praises Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover
During the episode, the former "Fear Factor" host gushed "Oh s---, oh s---, Elon Musk just bought Twitter."
He called Musk "a movie star cut type of a superhero. Like a movie and there was a guy who was like a hero in the movie who happens to be a billionaire who does wild s---. Like makes his own rockets and drills under the city with electric cars and then buys Twitter."
"Maybe Elon will buy TikTok next," Rogan quipped.
Musk has actually appeared on Rogan's podcast three times before he became Twitter's then-largest shareholder in April, with over a 9% stake in the company.
By mid-April, text messages between the SpaceX founder and the Twitter board chair, Bret Taylor, became public, with Musk offering to buy the company for $54.20 per share to "unlock its potential."
Joe Rogan Supports Elon Musk's Free Speech Initiative
The richest man in the world said that he wanted to take over ownership of one of the most influential social media sites in the world to promote a "healthy democracy" and protect free speech, as stated at a TED Conference earlier this month.
"Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," Musk said in a statement.
Although some users are concerned that "free speech" means that the social media site will become a hotbed for hate speech and misinformation, Rogan said Musk's takeover is "f---ing amazing" and echoed Musk's statements that the acquisition was "vital" for a "functioning democracy."
"We found out some things about Twitter," Rogan said on Tuesday night, adding that "one of the things they do is shadow ban," accounts for saying things "they don’t agree with."
Twitter has cracked down on COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation since the pandemic began. Several guests on Rogan's show have been suspended indefinitely from the platform for pedaling such misinformation.
Rogan said the takeover "change everything" and openly wondered "how quickly it is before Donald Trump’s back."
However, the former president insisted that he won’t return to Twitter even if his ban is lifted. Instead, he plans to continue using his own Truth Social app, which he called "much better."
Joe Rogan Has A Lot To Say About Free Speech
Earlier this year, Rogan was the subject of controversy when he was accused of using his platform to spread COVID-19 misinformation. One particular guest was Dr. Robert Malone, a vehement critic of the COVID-19 vaccine who has also been banned from Twitter.
This prompted musicians like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell to pull their music for the platform. To avoid losing other artists, Spotify set up a COVID-19 information hub and added content warnings to podcasts containing potential misinformation.
However, Rogan's trouble did not stop there. Artist India Arie pulled her music off the platform after a compilation video surfaced of Rogan saying the N-word many times throughout the years.
Rogan created two apology videos on Instagram to address each controversy but recently noted that he had actually gained subscribers as a result of the controversy.