R&B singer India.Arie told CNN’s Don Lemon she doesn’t think Joe Rogan is racist despite his repeated use of the N-word on his podcast.
“I don’t think Joe Rogan is racist for using [the N-word],” the singer said Monday on CNN’s “Don Lemon Tonight.” “I think he’s insensitive for using it.”
Last week, the “Brown Skin” singer shared a viral video compilation of Rogan using the N-word on his Spotify podcast over the years. Rogan has since taken to Instagram to apologize for using the slur calling it the “most regretful and shameful thing” he has ever had to address publicly.
Monday Arie told Lemon she thought Rogan “did a fine job with his apology.”
“He said a lot of the things I would want to hear someone say. The thing that stuck out for me most was when he said, ‘It’s not my word to use.’ And I think changed behavior is what we’re really looking for.”
In recent weeks, Joe Rogan has come under fire for his covid-19 misinformation and most recently for his use of racial slurs on his podcast. Just last week, Arie became one of several other artists who pulled their music from Spotify due to Rogan’s covid misinformation. She claimed that although she’s been having issues with the streaming service, Rogan was the last straw.
“As a working musician who has always had issues with Spotify, and then they bring in this Joe Rogan thing, and now it creates a thing that I can’t not speak up about,” Arie said. “He’s not the reason, but he is the final reason.”
Joe Rogan’s Spotify contract is worth $100 million while artists reportedly make $.0033-$.0054 per stream, Business Insider reports.
