Joe Rogan is best known for his podcast, which remains the most popular and influential in the English-speaking world. Still, others know him as a long-time UFC commentator, while some know him for his stint as the host of ‘Fear Factor’. But the thing Rogan takes the most pride in and started off in showbiz is as a stand-up comic. However, being a comic has not been easy for Rogan as he recounted to Adam Sandler on episode #2187 of the JRE podcast. Not to mention his recent stand-up special.

Rogan has spoken repeatedly about the immense respect and admiration he has for comedy and comedians. So much does the podcast host love comedy that one of the first things he did on moving to Austin, Texas was to build a whole comedy club. But the path to comedy club ower from being a comic was not all sunshine and rainbows. There was a time Rogan embarrassed himself, hard, infront of his partner!

Joe Rogan ruefully recalls time he bombed so hard his girlfriend asked him if he was okay

One of the most difficult thing about being a stand-up comedian is that you have to be at your A-game every time you perform, which could be twice or even thrice a night for big comics. Many comics have admitted that bombing (industry term for not being able to make the audience laugh) is one of the worst feelings they have ever had.

And just how much bombing bothers comedians was proven yet again as Joe Rogan recalled a horrible set he had years ago which still bothers him to this day. Rogan recalled going to a college stand-up gig in New Jersey many a moons ago, where his opener, J.B. Smoove was late.

This prompted the organizers to tell Rogan to chill in the Rec Room, where he made the unfortunate decision to watch a documentary on the tragic and devastating Malibu fires. But this turned out to be a disaster as Rogan got emotional watching the heart-wrenching scenes of death and devastation caused by the fire.

“So I sit down [before a comedy show] and I’m watching this documentary on the Malibu fires and it’s all these people like people [who] lost their family lost, their house, this little kid walking around looking for his dog Rusty, dog’s dead right. And there was this fireman who was just weeping and crying,” he said.

As Rogan was sitting there, watching the documentary, tears streaming down his face, the organizers popped in to tell him that since his opener wasn’t here yet, Rogan would have to open the show. Predictably, the show went terribly for Rogan, who was still reeling from the emotional trauma and hurt of having watched grief-stricken people lose their families and homes a few minutes ago.

Rogan’s then-girlfriend was in attendance, doubtlessly hoping to see him do what he does best. However, the UFC commentator had bombed so hard that even his girlfriend was disappointed and concerned for him, seemingly losing respect for him as a comic.

“And then they [the organizers] come in the green room they go look [opening comic] JB [Smoove]’s not here yet so we’re going to have you open up… And I’m crying I was literally crying watching this thing about these people losing everything in these fires, it was horrific. And I went stage, just ate s**t… And I was with my girlfriend at the time and she was like so disappointed in me She knew I was funny, [but even she was] like ‘What’s wrong with you?'” Rogan added. And while Rogan’s podcast has a die-hard fan base who are among the strongest in the world, his stand-up comedy routine is not quite as popular.

‘Burn the Boats’ opens to bad reviews

Despite his great love for comedy, Joe Rogan’s comedy, according to many of his fans, is not his strongest suite. This assessment was seemingly borne out in his latest comedy special, ‘Burn The Boats’, which released on Netflix earlier this month. His first special in six years, many were expecting the material to be top-notch given how long Rogan has had to practice it and work out the kinks.

With a 0% score on ratings aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, and a 4/10 score on IMDb, the special has not been well received. His subreddit, too, has been very critical of the special, as has been the podcast commentary community on YouTube, not to mention news outlets.

While all of the usual suspects that one may expect in a Rogan special — yelling, conspiracy theories, psychedelics, disdain for politics, and criticizing the cultural ‘orthodoxy’– were there in the special, it has failed to make much of a positive impact. However, thankfully, comedy is something that Rogan does more as a hobby now and isn’t how he earns his livelihood. And since he famously doesn’t pay much heed to criticism, we can almost be sure he will come out with another special, even if we have to wait a few years.