TheQuartering [8/4/2022]
Comedian Kathy Griffin has suggested that Joe Rogan is more of a threat to the U.S. than former President Donald Trump.
Griffin, who faced backlash after posing with the severed head of an effigy of Trump in 2017, has been a frequent critic of the one-term former president over the years.
However, Griffin now says that she sees the rise in popularity of Rogan—who, as Spotify’s top podcaster, has been accused of spreading misinformation on his show—as more cause for concern than Trump’s army of supporters.
Speaking with New York contributing editor Kara Swisher on her podcast Pivot, Griffin shared her thoughts on Rogan in the midst of criticizing billionaire Elon Musk.
“I haven’t seen Joe Rogan in years,” Griffin said, “and I said to Judd [Apatow], ‘If I ran into Joe—I haven’t seen him in probably 15 years—I could probably have a conversation [with him].'”
After explaining that she got to know Rogan when he appeared on ’90s sitcom NewsRadio, while she starred in the classic comedy Suddenly Susan, she added:
“It’s kind of the Roganization of America that I now am more worried about than Trumpism.”
While Griffin didn’t specify the source of her concerns about Rogan, she told Interview earlier this year that she makes a point of avoiding “guys like Joe.”
“His fan base is very frightening because the misogyny runs so deep,” she said. “When I make fun of his show, the Elon Musk army comes after me, the Rogan army comes after me…They’re very into swarming. I’ve known guys like Joe my whole career, and guys like that are best to stay away from. There are other people that can get in the arena with him.”
For his part, Rogan has also been critical of Griffin in the past, questioning on his show why she wasn’t banned from social media after posting a controversial photo of herself posing with a mannequin’s severed head, styled to resemble Trump.
He pointed out that popular figures could make derogatory comments about a group of people that could lead members of the public to attack individuals who might fit that description.
“You’re not responsible for that, are you? Probably not,” Rogan said. “But you’ve got to kind of feel like you played a part in the way people look at things, especially people that are very easily influenced.”