Joe Rogan turns down Rumble's $100M offer

Joe Rogan, the popular podcast host at the center of the Spotify controversy, has reportedly turned down a $100 million offer to leave the streamer for Canada-based video platform Rumble. 

The rejection came during a stand-up comedy appearance in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday night, according to the Hollywood Reporter. When asked by a fan whether he would take the offer, Rogan replied: "No, Spotify has hung in with me, inexplicably, let’s see what happens."

Representatives for Rogan and Rumble did not immediately return FOX Business' request for comment. 

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Rogan's alternative offer came earlier this week. 

"We stand with you, your guests and your legion of fans in desire for real conversation. So we'd like to offer you 100 million reasons to make the world a better place," Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski wrote in a Feb. 7 letter shared on Twitter. "How about you bring all your shows, both old and new, with no censorship, for 100 million bucks over four years? This is our chance to save the world. And yes, this is totally legit."

Shares of CF Acquisition Corp., Rumble's SPAC, which went public in December, fell on the news. Rumble, which launched in 2013, reached a total of 39 million monthly active users in January. 

Separately, Trump Media & Technology Group has entered an agreement with Rumble to provide video and streaming services to TRUTH Social, a social media platform expected to launch at the end of the first quarter of 2022. 

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Rogan, who went exclusive with Spotify in 2020 in a deal worth roughly $100 million, has been accused of spreading COVID-19 misinformation on his podcast. Artists who have announced plans to pull their music from Spotify in recent weeks include Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Nils Lofgren, Graham Nash, India Arie, David Crosby and Stephen Stills. 

In response to the controversy, Spotify said it would add a content advisory to podcasts on its platform that discuss the coronavirus. The company previously said that it had removed over 20,000 podcasts discussing coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic due to its detailed content policies. Rogan also promised he would do his best to "balance things out" with future COVID-19 related discussions.

"I talk s--- for a living – that’s why this is so baffling to me," he said Tuesday evening, according to THR. "If you’re taking vaccine advice from me, is that really my fault? What dumb s--- were you about to do when my stupid idea sounded better? ‘You know that dude who made people eat animal d---- on TV? How does he feel about medicine?’ If you want my advice, don’t take my advice."

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In addition to the criticism about the podcast's COVID-19 discussions, Rogan has apologized for resurfaced clips in which he previously used the N-word. 

While Spoitfy CEO Daniel Ek has condemned Rogan's previous use of "racially insensitive language," he emphasized that he did not believe in "silencing" Rogan. Spotify and Rogan's team have agreed to pull a select number of episodes from the platform and the company said it would invest $100 million in licensing, development and marketing of music and audio content from "historically marginalized groups."

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Rogan's public appearance comes after he called the controversy surrounding him a "political hit job" on Tuesday's episode of the "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast. 

"In a lot of ways, this is a relief," Rogan said. "That video had always been out there. This is a political hit job. They're taking all this stuff I've ever said that's wrong and smushing it all together. It's good because it makes me address some stuff that I really wish wasn't out there."

He also doubled down on his apology, noting that "you should apologize if you regret something." 

"I do think you have to be careful not to apologize for nonsense," he added.

As of the end of 2021, Spotify had a total of 180 million paid subscribers and 406 million monthly active users. The company expects those numbers to grow to 183 million and 418 million, respectively, in the first quarter of 2022. The company had 3.6 million podcasts on its platform as of the end of the fourth quarter.