Spotify just lost two more artists over the Joe Rogan controversy
India Arie, Graham Nash have had enough of Spotify, too
Spotify’s problems extend beyond the departure of Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. Two more artists have announced that they’ll be pulling their music from the popular streaming service in the wake of the ongoing controversy surrounding Joe Rogan’s podcast The Joe Rogan Experience and how it’s handling information surrounding Covid-19.
Graham Nash and India Arie both announced that they’re pulling their music off Spotify, citing the company’s inaction regarding Covid-19 misinformation and racial content shared on The Joe Rogan Experience. Young and Mitchell already removed their music last week over objections about discredited Covid-19 claims aired during the podcast. Nils Lofgren has done likewise.
While the primary backlash surrounding Rogan has been centered on questionable comments regarding COVID-19 vaccines, Arie has pointed out on Instagram that her primary reason for removing her music from Spotify is his recent statements about race. “I believe in freedom of speech,” said the R&B singer-songwriter. “However, I find Joe Rogan problematic for reasons other than his Covid interviews. For me, it’s also his language around race.”
Arie is referring to a conversation between Rogan and controversial psychologist Jordan Peterson last month during an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. “There’s such a spectrum of shades of people,” Rogan said. “Unless you’re talking to someone who is, like, 100% African, from the darkest place, where they are not wearing any clothes all day and they’ve developed all that melanin to protect themselves from the sun. You know, even the term Black is weird. When you use it for people who are literally my color, it becomes very strange.”
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